A Friendly Game
by Cardinals Against Humanity
Summary: Pyrrha receives a chess board from her parents. Jaune offers to play with her and the two make a small bet. Hilarity Ensues. "WHY IS EVERYTHING SETTLED BY A F**KING CHESS GAME NOW?"
1. Match 1: Arc Vs Nikos

A Friendly Game

* * *

**A/N: Pyrrha is a chocoholic in this.**

* * *

**Match 1: Arc Vs Nikos**

Sunday's were probably Pyrrha's favorite day of the week. The day allowed the young amazonian to relax after a long week of classes and unwind from her training sessions with Jaune. Sunday also happened to be the day Pyrrha went to collect any mail she'd received from her family back in Mistral. Her mother had grown fond of sending the crimson-haired champion small presents or desserts to remind her of home.

The amazonian casually strolled towards the mostly vacant mail room and spoke to the elderly man attending. Unsurprisingly, she'd received another package. _"Please be chocolate mousse…" _Pyrrha silently hoped as the man handed her the package. She gave a short thanks and walked back towards her shared dorm, the package tucked carefully under her arms.

* * *

It took about five minutes for Pyrrha to return, and she found Jaune sat on his bed, finishing some homework Peach had given them on the medicinal uses of Elanor. Unwilling to share what she presumed to be a delicious treat; Pyrrha quickly, and very obviously, hid the package behind her back as Jaune turned to her. "Hello Jaune." She said, walking towards her bed and doing a very poor job of hiding the box.

"Hey Pyrrha," He said, turning up and easily seeing the ends of the box poking out from either side of Pyrrha's waist. "Uhh…" He said with slight confusion, "Got something there, Pyrrha?" He asked, pointing to the exposed ends of the box.

Pyrrha's smile waned and she let out a small sigh as she placed the box ahead of her once more, "My parents sent me something in the mail." She said, setting down the box and cutting the tape with a pair of scissors Jaune handed her. "I'd hoped I could…"

Pyrrha's train of thought died as she removed the last of the bindings and opened the box to find; Not her treasured chocolate dessert, but instead a Mahogany &amp; Maple Chess Set with a note taped to the top. 'Sorry Honey, It was either this or the Chocolate Mousse and your father insisted. I'll try to send it to you soon. -Mom' The note read.

Pyrrha's eye twitched slightly as she finished reading, _"A chess set…" _She silently screamed, _"A damn chess set!" _She thought, crumpling the note in the palm of her hand and dropping it behind her. _"I've played enough chess! Where is my damn chocolate?!" _

Pyrrha was too caught up in her cocoa-based anger to notice Jaune walk over, interested by Pyrrha's sudden silence. "Pyrrha? You okay?" He asked cautiously, placing his hand on her shoulder.

At the light touch, Pyrrha returned to reality, "Yes, Jaune. I'm fine." She said, the tension clear in her voice, "This just isn't what I was expecting."

Jaune nodded as he picked up the crumpled note. "Well," He said, an idea to calm Pyrrha down forming in his mind, "Want to play a quick game?"

Pyrrha took a deep breath, "Okay," She said a bit resigned, clearly unenthusiastic at the idea, however an idea suddenly popped into her head, "But let's make things interesting." She added with some restored energy. "If I win, you have to cook for me for… The next three days." She said, her thoughts still clouded by the delayed dessert.

Jaune responded with a grin, "Alright." He said with some confidence, "But if I win, you have to give up chocolate for the week." Pyrrha gave a slight wince at Jaune's proposal.

Her obsession with the cocoa-based treat was not something she gambled with lightly; _"But if I win…" _Pyrrha's addiction argued, thoughts of mousse and pudding clouding her judgement. "Very Well." She said, taking a seat beside Jaune as he set up the pieces.

* * *

Pyrrha smiled as the blonde knight assembled each piece, having bested her uncle at the game many times prior to her attending Beacon, Pyrrha was quite confident in her own skills. As such, Pyrrha allowed Jaune to go first:

He moved the pawn ahead of his king first two squares, "How many times have you played chess before?" Pyrrha asked with genuine curiosity, advancing her pawn in front of her rook.

"Oh... A few times." He said, moving his bishop until it was parallel to his pawn. "My grandpa taught me when I was young."

Pyrrha nodded as she advanced her queen's knight forward. What Jaune did next surprised Pyrrha, "Your queen?" She asked. Jaune had moved the treasured piece diagonally so it was just before the pawn.

Jaune smiled, "Yes, the queen." He said evenly, "Your move." Pyrrha looked at Jaune for a moment in wonder; _"What is he planning?"_ Pyrrha asked herself as she moved her knight so it was beside his bishop.

* * *

Jaune smiled, "Checkmate." He said, taking the pawn ahead of his queen and trapping Pyrrha's king. It took a moment for Pyrrha to realize what had happened. The amazonian stared at the board for several seconds before the cruel truth of the situation dawned on her.

"B-but…" She said, realizing that her team leader had bested her in only four moves.

Jaune began to wipe away the board, "You know what that means?" He asked rhetorically, a smug grin across his face.

Pyrrha looked up at the triumphant blonde with a begging look in her eyes, "Jaune…" She said, a voice begging mercy taking control.

"**No.**" He said, drawing out the announcement for dramatic effect.

"Jaune, please." She said almost yelling as she grabbed the sides of his hoodie.

"**More.**" The scraggly leader continued, enjoying every moment of his triumph and ignoring Pyrrha's increasingly erratic behavior.

"Jaune!" Pyrrha now yelled, panic entering her voice. _"YOU WILL NOT TAKE MY CHOCOLATE!" _She screamed in her head.

Jaune it seemed was oblivious as ever and continued to speak, "**ChocoLAGHH!**" He finished with a scream as Pyrrha tackled him.

"You don't want to finish that sentence." Pyrrha deadpanned, still on top of him, oblivious to the compromising position she'd created.

Jaune looked up at her, chuckling nervously, "You lost, you have to…"

Pyrrha's grip on his shoulders tightened, "You cheated…" She said quietly. Jaune stopped talking and thought of a way out of his present situation. Luckily for the leader, the door opened followed by a gentle voice.

"Jaune? Are you okay?" Ruby said, opening the door more, "I heard screaming and… Pyrrha!?" She yelled, staring at the two partners.

* * *

It was at this moment that the two chess players realized the… Compromising… Position they were in, with the fiery amazonian essentially straddling the young Arc fellow. Both Pyrrha's and Jaune's faces immediately blushed a red to put Pyrrha's hair to shame and the amazonian rolled off, covering herself.

"Wait, Ruby. We can explain!" Jaune desperately called out.

Ruby stared him down for a moment, "Okay… Explain." She said cautiously.

Jaune sent a silent prayer to Oum and took a deep breath, "Pyrrha got this chess set in the mail from her parents earlier and she seemed… disappointed." He said with a quick look over to his partner, "I thought we could play a game and we decided to make a bet out of it. I had to be her chef for the next few days if she won and she had to give up chocolate if I won. I beat her and… And that's when she tackled me…" He finished, breathing heavily.

Ruby directed her gaze to a still blushing Pyrrha who nodded quickly. Ruby could tell the two were telling the truth but one question still bothered her, "You beat her?" She asked Jaune in disbelief.

"What? Yeah. But we weren't…." He began.

"You beat Pyrrha?" Ruby still questioned, in obvious disbelief.

"Yes!" Jaune said in a slight shout, "Now please don't tell anyone what you just saw?" He begged.

Ruby took a moment to respond, "Y-yeah…" She said nodding before leaving the Coed dorm, "Jaune… Beat Pyrrha…" She quietly repeated to herself as she left.

Jaune breathed a deep sigh of relief as the young crimson huntress left, confident that she would remain silent on the odd situation she'd seen a moment ago. Jaune next turned to his still blushing partner. He took several moments to think of his response before speaking, "C'mon." He said to the red-haired champion.

Pyrrha looked up at him confused, "What?" She asked.

Jaune nervously rubbed the back of his head for a moment before responding, "This is what happened after five minutes…" He turned to her, "Let's NOT push it to a week." He said, flashing her smile.

Pyrrha looked up at Jaune, hope returning to her eyes, "So…" She began to ask, not wanting to push her luck.

Jaune sighed, "C'mon, let's get some chocolate." He said, extending his hand to the amazonian.

Pyrrha smiled and took Jaune's hand, pulling into a tight hug, "Thank you!" She squealed excitedly, already running down the hall towards the nearest ship bound for Vale.

"W-Wait!" Jaune yelled, dashing after her as fast as his body would allow.


	2. Match 2: Arc Vs Schnee

**A/N: It seems I forgot to mention this in the last chapter; This story will obviously be continuing as evidenced by this chapter, however it will be a limited series. There will likely only end up being four chapters total with a possible bonus chapter if new characters in Volume 2 fit a certain criteria. Now with that out of the way, on to chapter 2!**

* * *

**Match 2: Arc Vs Schnee**

* * *

Jaune grunted as he climbed the many stairs that lead to his team's dorm. While he'd climbed these steps hundreds of times before during his time at Beacon, he'd never been quite as winded as he currently was… However most other times he climbed, it wasn't after midnight with a sleeping Pyrrha Nikos cradled in his arms.

Well, sleeping wasn't entirely accurate. Pyrrha was actually in the midst of an incredible crash after having eaten several pounds of milk chocolate. How it was the amazonian managed to devour so much of the creamy substance and retain her healthy figure was a mystery to the Arc fellow.

Jaune didn't mind the trip however, he'd actually enjoyed the day. After he'd thoroughly decimated Pyrrha in their chess match, the duo had visited Vale for the day on a sort of date. The day had gone exceptionally well despite the protests of Jaune's wallet and the two partners had boarded the ship bound for Beacon around 11 o'clock.

* * *

At roughly 11:01, Pyrrha's sugar high ended and she crashed… Badly. The scarlet-haired huntress battled the urge to sleep only long enough for the two to arrive at Beacon. Almost the instant the ship's doors opened, Pyrrha fell asleep beside Jaune, forcing the blonde to carry her.

At first Jaune hadn't minded, taking up the girl in a bridal manner and allowing her head to fall lightly onto his shoulder. However after twenty long minutes of carrying a person wearing metal armor, fatigue began to set in.

Jaune couldn't bring himself to awaken the napping girl in his arms however, even electing to take an even longer route to ensure no person disturbed her slumber, least of all a very specific blonde brawler who found great pleasure in teasing the duo.

After almost an hour of strenuous climbing, Jaune and the gently snoring Pyrrha neared their dorm. _"So close…" _Jaune thought, his eyes fighting an incredible urge to close, _"Just one more turn and…"_Jaune's pleasant thoughts were interrupted by a shrill shriek from around the corner… A shrill shriek Jaune, as well as the rest of teams RWBY and JNPR, had long since grown accustomed to.

The shriek of an annoyed Weiss Schnee.

"Why…?" Jaune begged the sky briefly as he finally turned the corner.

"You insufferable brute!" Weiss yelled, slamming the door to her dorm and walking several feet before seeing the odd appearance of Jaune and Pyrrha.

The dust heiress stared Jaune down for a moment before opening her mouth to presumably yell at Jaune. Instead Jaune spoke first, "Please… For all that is good in this world, don't wake her up. I'll do anything." He finished with a whisper.

Weiss closed her mouth, seemingly assessing her options before speaking, "Put her away and come back out here." She said in a quiet but commanding voice. Jaune nodded sleepily and lumbered forward to his dorm.

Jaune entered the dorm and set Pyrrha down on her bed, taking care not to awaken the remaining half of his team. Jaune nearly collapsed onto his bed before remembering his brief promise to Weiss and turned back around, muttering several profanities as he exited the room.

Jaune closed the door to his team's dorm and turned sleepily to the W of team RWBY. Weiss wasted no time, "Care to explain… That?" She asked, referring to the odd state he was in moment before.

Jaune sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day, "I took Pyrrha to Vale for some chocolate." He said evenly, "We were out longer than we thought and she fell asleep on the way back, I had to carry her back." He finished, the sleepiness beginning to creep into his voice.

Weiss it seemed accepted his answer but still had one question, "You took her?" She asked, "But I thought you won?"

Jaune looked at Weiss for a short time before his mind connected the two thoughts, "Ruby told you?" He asked, now mildly annoyed.

Weiss turned away, seemingly annoyed at her own admission, "Yes, I hadn't believed her until now but…" She said distantly, a plan forming in her mind, "I wish to play against you." She said, turning back to face him.

Jaune took a moment to respond, not particularly wanting to play again but also not waiting to irritate Weiss, "I can't do that, the board was Pyrrha's and…"

Weiss held up her hand to stop him, "I have my own, I'd hoped the rest of my team could play but…" She faded into silence, the implication clear.

Jaune however still was less than willing to play against the dust heiress, her competitive nature well known throughout the school. "I don't know if I really wa…" Weiss stopped him again, this time raising her scroll rather than her hand. Plastered on the screen was a picture of Jaune holding a napping Pyrrha… When it was she managed to take the picture an important question.

"When did you…" Jaune began, his mind more awake than earlier.

Weiss it seemed would continue to interrupt the youngest Arc as she spoke now in a threatening tone, "If you don't play against me, I'll show this picture to Yang." She deadpanned, knowing she'd won.

Jaune stared down the Ice Princess, anger sparkling behind his blue eyes briefly, "Fine." He said behind gritted teeth, "But delete that picture afterwards." Weiss nodded in agreement before turning back towards her room only to be stopped by Jaune.

"How was it you got that picture?" He half asked, half demanded. Weiss allowed a small smile to grace her lips, "The school has cameras in each hallway, It's rather easy to look into them." She said simply, walking into her dorm and ending the conversation.

Jaune looked up briefly at the ceiling, only just realizing how closely monitored they were before disappearing into his room and collapsing onto his bed. Jaune did not look forward to the following morning.

* * *

As it turns out, the following day went far better than expected. Jaune awoke easily despite his reduced amount of sleep and made his way to Professor Peach's Grimm Biology and Botany class after a short shower and lunch. The class was among the easiest of the classes Jaune endured, with him sharing the class with Ren who served as an incredible partner and it was there he learned that Professor Port's class had been canceled due to a fire during one of Port's in class demonstrations.

The class trudged along easily for forty-five minutes with the men of JNPR taking notes on specific plants that served as medicines and weak points to target in specific Grimm.

Next he moved onward to Oobleck's hour long lecture regarding the history of Remnant. Jaune, though normally oblivious in the green-haired professor's classroom, was able to answer several questions regarding the founding of Vale and earn a small amount of praise from the coffee lover. The period seemed to fly by for Jaune, with him barely finishing his notes before Oobleck began to rush the students out to their next classes or lunch.

Jaune's day was going so well in fact, he was beginning to forget about the deal he'd made with Weiss the previous night. That was until he sat down beside Pyrrha for lunch and found Weiss darting her eyes towards him, 'subtly' reminding him about their ignored this, electing to enjoy the meal before him instead of worry about the foreboding game.

Jaune left the cafeteria quietly with Pyrrha and the duo made their way towards Professor Goodwitch's Applied Dust Theory Class, by far the most difficult class for freshmen. However as they neared the dreaded classroom, a very loud explosion followed by a certain blonde sorceress' shrill yelling stopped the duo in their tracks. The duo cautiously continued forward after a minute of waiting to find the center of the room in flame, desks and papers scattered about, and a VERY angry and soot-covered Glynda Goodwitch.

The educator appeared to have finished her rant as the two entered the destroyed classroom, "Insufferable, Uncoordinated…" Goodwitch muttered as she passed the two, "Miss Nikos, Mister Arc, would you two please excuse me? Class has been canceled for today." She said behind gritted teeth.

Jaune fought an urge to laugh as Pyrrha nodded in affirmation. This day just kept getting better! Jaune smiled as he walked back towards his dorm with his red-haired partner, No more classes for the day, an easy morning, no homework! Today it seemed was just going to be fantast…

Jaune's hopes for the day died within seconds of turning the corner as he found himself facing a slightly annoyed Weiss Schnee. "Oh…" Jaune said as he remembered his earlier agreement. Weiss it seemed had a similar amount of free time and was far less patient than most people. Before the blonde could continue speaking, Weiss grabbed him by his collar and began to drag him towards the RWBY dorm.

"What do you think you're…?" Pyrrha began to ask, only to be silenced as Weiss showed her the compromising picture of the two on her scroll.

Pyrrha darted her eyes to Jaune, having been asleep during the picture but Weiss spoke instead, "I'd heard that Jaune had beaten you at chess and I wanted to play him," She said, "He was uncertain but I… Convinced him otherwise." Without another word, Weiss pulled Jaune into her dorm and sat him down before the prepared board.

Jaune was less than happy with the icy heiress now, not only had she ruined his good mood from earlier, she'd now dragged Pyrrha into this even more than before. An annoyed twitch crept up his brow as he sat down, _"No mercy." _He quietly vowed, taking his place as Weiss predictably took the white pieces.

She stared him down for a moment before placing the scroll between them, "If you win I'll delete the picture. She said evenly, "If you lose, I keep it until you beat me." The terms were clear, and Jaune was unwilling to let that particular photo exist any longer. He nodded quickly and awaited Weiss' first move.

* * *

The white-clad huntress advanced the pawn in front of her queen's rook one space and smiled. "I must say I'm impressed you defeated Pyrrha." She said with genuine praise. Jaune, still angered, ignored this and moved his piece, electing to advance his king's pawn one space forward. Weiss took no heed of this and advanced the pawn before her king's bishop two. "I'd assumed her to be quite skilled in the game after all the training she's been through."

She continued. Jaune's silence lingered as he moved his queen diagonally to face the pawn Weiss had just moved. "Your queen?" Weiss questioned, confused by the bold play.

"Yes." Jaune deadpanned, "My queen. It's your move." He said very pointedly. Weiss unconsciously bit her lip, confused by Jaune's strategy. After almost twenty seconds of thought, Weiss placed her king's knight behind her pawn.

Jaune wasted no time in taking the aforementioned pawn with his queen, surprising Weiss with his boldness. Weiss felt a small bead of sweat grace her temple as she realized the actual skill Jaune possessed. _"No matter." _Weiss countered in her mind, _"I am a Schnee, I must beat him." _

She thought, reassuring her confidence as she retreated her knight. Jaune felt a small smile break through, "Something wrong, Snow Angel?" He asked, "My queen scare you that much?" He said, biting at her pride.

Schnee pride was not something to be challenged lightly, but Weiss knew the folly if she simply placed her knight back where it once was, "It's not a retreat," She said evenly but coldly, "It's refusing to uselessly waste my pieces." Jaune ignored this and moved his king's bishop into position to take the recently retreated knight.

"What was that about not wasting pieces?" He asked with a voice emanating smugness. Weiss stared at the board, amazed at Jaune's ability to outmaneuver her.

Then she smiled, seeing a small flaw in his plan. "It seems you forgot one thing." She said, moving her knight once more into position to take his queen. _"It's perfect! He has to move that damned queen now or lose it. Plus I saved my knight!" _She thought giddily in her mind.

Weiss didn't care who else she lost in the process, she would not allow Jaune to take her knight and make her a fool. "Now who's in a tight spot?" Weiss asked, savoring her small victory.

* * *

What Jaune did next surprised Weiss entirely. Jaune stood up and turned to her, a certain glint in his blue eyes. "Checkmate." He said evenly with a small smile, advancing his queen ahead, diagonal to the king and before the king's bishop.

Weiss looked at the board in horror. He was right… He'd beaten her… In Five Moves… If Weiss tried to take the queen with her king, Jaune's bishop would take it… She'd lost. To Jaune Arc of all people!

Jaune it seemed took less pleasure in his victory than he did with Pyrrha, "You see Weiss," He said, picking up her scroll and deleting the picture from existence, "My entire plan relied on your sense of pride."

Weiss continued to stare at the board, shell-shocked being a perfect word to describe her. "You were so concerned with not letting me take your knight, that you ignored the rest of the game."

"Goodbye Weiss." Jaune said, exiting the dorm just as the other three quarters of RWBY entered the dorm.

"Jaune? What were you…?" Ruby began to say.

Jaune glared at the youngest huntress, "Ruby, do me a favor. Don't tell anybody else about my chess games." He said, walking back towards his dorm without another word.

Ruby looked away guiltily for having been caught while Blake and Yang entered the dorm only to see the still paralyzed Weiss. "He beat me…" She continually muttered under her breath, her left eye twitching and fists clenched.

"Weiss…" Blake said cautiously, approaching the heiress. "You okay?" Weiss snapped her head towards the feline huntress, eyes full of wonder and anger, "How?!" She demanded, grabbing the onyx girl's shoulders, "How did he do this!?" Blake's eyes darted down to the scene beneath them, it was a chess board with the white king clearly in checkmate.

It was then that Blake remembered Jaune's passing comment to Ruby, Yang however put two and two together faster and started laughing. "You lost to Vomit Boy?!" The blonde practically squealed out, bending over from laughter, "Oh Oum, this is amazing!" She said, falling to her knees. It wasn't often that someone could damage Weiss' ego like Jaune appeared to. Weiss simply continued to shake in her seat, rage filling her body, "How did he do it?" She demanded, "How?"

* * *

Jaune meanwhile entered his dorm, expecting to find Pyrrha so the two could spend the night practicing. Despite Jaune's twice exhibited tactical mind; His body was, while far better than it had been weeks before, still a particularly weak area if he hoped to be a hunter.

As he opened the door, rather than finding his cocoa-obsessed amazonian as he'd planned, he found the gun-slinging martial artist he'd come to befriend known as Lie Ren sat polishing his weapon. Jaune was about to say hello before he noticed a certain bubbly ginger missing from his side.

"Hey Ren, Where's Nora?" He asked, walking towards his bed and grabbing his weapon and shield. Ren didn't look up from polishing StormFlower, "Detention," He said in his normal, even tone, "Apparently she had something to do with the little explosion in Goodwitch's class earlier."

Jaune chuckled at that, Nora's hyperactive personality coupled with her weapon, accidents like these were bound to happen. "Oh," He said, finally finding his shield, "Have you seen Pyr…" The sentence he was about to say was cut short by an incredibly loud scream from across the hall by a certain platinum-haired girl.

Jaune smiled at that, knowing his role in Weiss' deteriorating mental state. Ren noticed this and looked at his leader with some confusion. "I saw Weiss drag you into their dorm... What did you do to her?" He asked, setting down the green pistol. Whatever it was, it was bound to be more interesting than cleaning his weapon for the fifth time that day.

Jaune turned to him with a small grin, "Oh, we just played a quick game of chess." He said truthfully, "Turns out I'm quite good."

Ren looked at Jaune surprised for moment, he understood that Jaune was quite a good tactician but he didn't strike him as a very good chess player. _"But if he beat Weiss Schnee…" _A small voice reminded Ren. The Asian gunslinger made up his mind, "Chess?" He asked innocently, "Care to play sometime?"

Jaune shrugged, "Sure, why not." He said casually, "I can't now though." He said, moving towards the door, "By the way, have you seen Pyrrha?" He asked.

Ren nodded, "She's already headed to the roof." He said pointing. Jaune smiled, "Thanks." He said, leaving without another word.

Ren waited until he was sure Jaune left and smiled, _"Thank Oum." _The lotus boy thought, _"Finally someone to play against." _Ren too was a fan of chess, having won several small tournaments prior to entering Signal Academy. It was one of his passions and sadly he never found the time to play.

Ren quietly went back to polishing StormFlower, "If he can do _that_ to Weiss Schnee, this should be a fun match." Ren said, now looking forward to the coming match whenever it was.


	3. Match 3: Arc Vs Lie

**A/N: Holy Shit the Volume 2 premier was even better than I'd hoped! God bless Roosterteeth's fine employees and especially bless sirs Monty Oum, Miles Luna, and Kerry Shawcross!**

**Also, 30 Favorites and 32 Followers in only 8 days?! You guys are fucking amazing, thank you all so very much!**

* * *

**Match 3: Arc Vs Lie**

* * *

It had been 12 days since the infamous Arc-Schnee Chess Match that broke Weiss for several days. The platinum-haired girl had actually been avoiding Jaune for the past two weeks, with her red-clad partner reporting her to have been studying the basics of chess religiously since then.

Despite what Jaune presumed would be a rematch in the near future, Jaune had especially enjoyed his time at school; free of any blackmail from Weiss and his only obligation being a far more friendly chess match with Ren at the blonde's earliest convenience. Jaune let out a sigh of contentedness as he walked about the school's massive courtyard.

Most Saturdays Jaune would spend the day training with Pyrrha, however due to an accident involving Miló and Magnhild earlier that day, Pyrrha had been forced to cancel their training and Professor Geppetto was spending his evening dislodging a javelin from the barrel of a grenade launcher and trying his best not to lose his hands in the process.

This left Jaune with an open Saturday evening but no money to take a trip to Vale with. Even so, Jaune walked about the courtyard with a slight bounce in his step, eagerly looking forward to his free day.

* * *

As it turns out, the spring in Jaune's step would die after roughly ten minutes of boredom and the scraggly blonde returned to his dorm room, intending to nap the night away. To Jaune's dismay, Jaune entered the dorm and found; Not the silence he'd been clamoring for, Not the beautiful amazonian he loved, Not even Yang rooting through his team's belongings for the umpteenth time!

Instead he found the stoic gunslinger Lie Ren having his eardrums slowly destroyed by the hyperactive hammer-wielder known as Nora Valkyrie. "-re's so much to do!" Jaune heard as he opened the door, "There's roller coasters and cotton candy and -Hi Jaune- And prizes…" Nora said, not missing a beat as she alternated between speaking to Jaune and Ren.

Jaune immediately knew what Nora was talking about, the girl having talked about it almost non-stop for the past two weeks. Nora was referring to the new 7-Flags Theme park that had opened in Vale recently. While Jaune agreed that the park sounded like fun, he could easily see the relaxed Martial Artist's aversion to the crowded place.

Jaune felt no small amount of pity for his green-clad friend and an idea popped into his mind that would simultaneously save Jaune from his boredom and Ren from Nora. Jaune gave a short smile and nod to the lotus boy who only looked back at his leader with a expression of confusion. "While that does sound fun, Nora." Jaune said, pulling the pink-girl's attention from Ren, "Ren already promised to play a game of chess with me. Right Ren?"

Ren caught the ploy quickly and gave Jaune a look of thanks, "Right. I'm sorry Nora but I promised." He said, hoping that Nora would believe the lie.

To their luck, Nora's fast-paced mind had already jumped ships, "Ooh, Chess?" She asked, "My Renny is gonna kick your butt!" She said triumphantly. Though Ren didn't disagree with Nora's assumption, himself incredibly confident in his own skills, he didn't wish to anger Jaune and risk abandonment to the god-forsaken amusement park.

Ren instead muttered a simple, "Nora."

Jaune narrowed his eyes and grinned, "Oh Really?" He said, leaning in towards Nora. Nora reciprocated the gesture and the two were mere inches apart staring into each other's eyes, each holding a look of determination behind them. "Yeah!" She said, confident at her childhood friend's skills.

Ren watched on with some small confusion before breaking their focus with a short, *Ahem*. The two retreated from their positions but continued to stare each other down, "If you think you're so good," Nora said, "Prove it in front of us!" She said, a certain steel behind her voice.

Jaune's gaze faltered, an expression of confusion replacing his confident demeanor, "What?" He asked.

Nora's gaze didn't falter, "You heard me! If you're so good, play against my Renny with us watching! That way you can't cheat!"

Jaune bit his lip, he never performed well under a crowd and he was incredibly puzzled at how one could cheat at chess in the first place.

Ren it seemed didn't pick up on Jaune's aversion to the idea and quietly said, "There's a few boards in the courtyard…" He said, hoping to end the standoff.

"So what is it?" Nora persisted, "Will you fight my Ren like a man?" She said, tugging on Jaune's pride.

Jaune's gaze focused once more, unwilling to let Nora win this fight, "Alright… Go get Pyrrha. We'll be in the courtyard waiting." He said, gesturing to himself and Ren.

"Deal!" Nora yelled, regaining her playfulness and already sprinting out the door, "No backsies!" She said, already having disappeared down the hall.

As soon as she was gone, Jaune sighed. "C'mon," He said, walking towards the courtyard once more, "Let's get this over with."

Ren nodded and began to follow Jaune, the duo walked for several minutes before Ren broke the silence, "She wasn't wrong," Ren said with a small grin, "I am going to win."

Jaune turned to Ren and gave a small smile, "We'll see." He said innocently enough. Still, something about Jaune's tone nagged at Ren. Something told him this would be a tough match.

"Should we get Team RWBY?" Ren asked, "I think they'd be int…" Jaune turned to Ren and raised his eyebrow, "Ren, do you really want to deal with them AND Nora?"

The green-clad boy bit his lip at that, "Fair point."

* * *

The duo made their way to the courtyard quickly and selected a nearby table to begin their match at. Ren was gracious enough to offer Jaune the first move with the white pieces but the blonde turned it down to his surprise. Now with the board setup and first turn decided, the two men of JNPR patiently awaited their partners, passing the time by discussing an upcoming project in Professor Peach's class.

The two boys only had to wait for roughly five minutes before they saw Nora sprinting from the far end of the yard with Pyrrha in tow behind. They each had something in their… "Go Ren!" Nora yelled, skidding to a stop just before crashing into the table and waving a small flag with Ren's name printed across.

Pyrrha appeared soon after waving a similar flag only with Jaune's name stitched across, "Go Jaune!" She said, taking a seat beside the table with Nora, each watching closely.

"Where did you get those?" Ren and Jaune each asked.

Nora beamed at the duo, "Blake sold them to us. She has some for Team RWBY too." She said with another wave of the small decoration.

Before the two could question why it was Blake had these made, Nora brought the flag down in a manner similar to the start of a race, "Let the games begin!" She yelled, attracting the attention of several bystanders. Jaune looked to Ren who gave him a sigh of resignation before moving the pawn before his king two spaces.

Jaune looked at the board with an intense focus, blocking out the 'whispers' from the ladies of his team. Jaune advanced his own king's pawn ahead one space. Ren wasted no time and moved his queen diagonally to the edge of the board. Jaune unconsciously smiled, grateful that Ren's confidence actually lived up to his skill unlike that of a certain heiress.

"Risky move." Jaune said, now advancing the pawn ahead of his queen two.

"I have faith." Ren said, moving his king's bishop diagonally one space, standing ahead of his king now.

Jaune smiled, "I'm sure you do." He said, moving his king's knight into a position to take Ren's queen.

Rather than save his queen like Jaune had predicted, Ren instead moved his bishop into a position to take his King, "Check." He said, enjoying this game.

Jaune looked up at the magenta-eyed hunter, "Clever." He said, moving his pawn up one to protect his king.

Ren smiled, "Thank you." He said, moving his queen now so she stood three spaces away from his knight, ready to take the black horse.

It was Jaune's turn to surprise Ren, rather than rescuing his knight, Jaune simply took one of Ren's pawns with his own, which now stood in a position to take the white queen.

Ren smirked, something entirely unheard of for the stoic boy. "Good move." He said, sliding his queen so it stood two spaces behind his free bishop. Jaune again smiled and took the aforementioned bishop with his pawn. Ren looked unfazed by the loss and simply advanced the pawn ahead of his Queen's Rook by two, putting it in a position to be taken by Jaune's pawn.

Jaune didn't take the bait and instead moved his pawn so it was directly in front of Ren's queen, surprising Ren. "Interesting move." He said, moving his king's knight forward into a position in which Jaune could take the piece. Jaune it seemed refused to take any bait Ren offered and instead moved his queen's knight forward and to Jaune's left.

Ren bit his lip in thought for a moment, slightly annoyed at Jaune's refusal of his bait. "You were right," He said, advancing the pawn before his Queen's Bishop two spaces, "You are rather good."

Jaune smiled, "Why thank you." He said, silencing Ren's free knight with his pawn.

Ren let a flash of anger show across his face at that move, "I really wish you hadn't done that." He said, using his queen to silence the offending pawn. Jaune this time remained silent and simply moved his queen's knight into position to take Ren's queen. Ren sighed in annoyance and slid his queen to the king's edge of the board.

Jaune remained silent as he moved his knight now into position to take Ren's king. "Check." He said evenly.

Ren quietly slid his king horizontally one space, closer now to his queen. Jaune wasted no time in advancing his own queen so it rested behind the black knight. Ren bit the inside of his lip, uncharacteristically unsure of what to do. He'd never been put on the defensive in chess before.

Ren finally, and uneasily, moved his queen one space horizontally towards Jaune's knight and queen. Jaune silently moved his queen to take the pawn to it's side. Ren felt a bead of sweat grace his forehead as he desperately thought of ways to finish the match soon. Based on the last few moves, a war of attrition was not a safe strategy anymore.

Ren moved his remaining knight forward, ready to take Jaune's queen unless he moved the treasured piece. Jaune smiled and looked at Ren, "You're losing your edge." He said, vanquishing the freshly moved knight with a pawn. Ren slapped himself internally for such a basic mistake until he saw a new opportunity arise.

He quickly took the murderous pawn with his Queen's Rook and took solace in that he'd finally forced Jaune's leading knight to move. Jaune retreated his knight so it stood diagonal to Ren's queen and Ren moved his finally freed king back to it's original space.

Ren failed to see his miscalculation until it was too late. Jaune moved his queen to take Ren's last bishop and spoke quietly, "Checkmate."

* * *

The gunslinger stared at the board for several seconds before turning to face Jaune, a small smile across his face, "Thank you Jaune." He said, rising from his seat, "That was a lot of fun." He said, extending his hand out. The two shook each-other's hands and turned to see….

"NORA NO!" Pyrrha yelled as Nora grabbed the chess board from the table.

"I HATE CHESS!" Nora yelled madly, snapping the board and throwing the splintered halves an immeasurable distance into the Emerald Forest and hitting an unfortunate Ursa.

"Nora! That was school property!" Pyrrha yelled at the Valkyrie.

Jaune and Ren watched the two argue for several minutes, Jaune having the wisdom to take out his scroll and record as much as possible before his battery died.

After roughly 5 minutes of arguing, Ren and Jaune faced each other and came to a silent agreement. The two hunters stepped in between the arguing huntresses, an act not taken lightly by most men. "Nora?" Ren said, "Pyrrha?" Jaune said.

The two girls looked at the boys, each with a fierce look across their face, "What?" The duo simultaneously snapped.

Ren and Jaune looked at each other, silently willing the other on. "I was going to make brownies…." Jaune said, "I was planning on making pancakes tonight…." Ren said.

Each girl's shoulders relaxed at the mention of their respective treats. Nora pulled Ren into a tight hug, "With extra syrup?" She asked, slightly crushing his spine. "Of course." He said, adjusting his stance so he wouldn't collapse.

Ren turned and looked at Jaune, seeing him in a similar position with Pyrrha. The two hunters gave each other knowing looks; This was going to be a long night for the men of JNPR.

* * *

**A/N: Before you guys yell at me, Ren is already confirmed to be able to cook and everybody can make brownies if they try. I'm not saying Jaune is a master baker, he just learned how to make a very common dessert that Pyrrha happens to love.**

**Also I have one more chapter planned. But who will our lovable blonde face next? Stay tuned to find out.**


	4. Match 4: Arc Vs Ozpin

**A/N: Sorry for the delay guys, but between a lack of internet, cramped work schedule, school restarting, an overall lack of inspiration, and a bucket list of other issues, I've been sadly unable to work on the story at my usual rate. I hope you all forgive the MASSIVE delay and enjoy this story.**

**Also, as ninety percent of you guessed, this match will be between Jaune and Ozpin.**

* * *

**Match 4: Arc Vs Ozpin**

* * *

**Several Days Later**

Jaune quietly listened in Professor Port's class, hoping to find something to pass the time. Not to say the mustached-man's stories weren't interesting, but they were a tad too… Outlandish for anyone to take seriously after the first day. Jaune let out a sleepy yawn as he turned about in his seat, looking over the class and hoping to find anything to hold his attention.

He turned his head slowly, passing over each corner of the room. He found Pyrrha busily writing in her notebook any and all notes or pieces of information that could prove useful, how it was Pyrrha found anything of worth between the exaggerated epics Port told continued to amaze Jaune. The blond continued his search, turning his head further and making a mental note to ask Pyrrha for her notes after class.

Next Jaune spotted Ren, the pony-tailed gunslinger laid back in his seat casually; plainly asleep to all in the room with the exception of the hunter speaking. Beside Ren was, predictably, Nora. Jaune noted that the ginger-haired girl looked surprisingly attentive given her… Bubbly nature.

The hammer-wielder sat wide-eyed, seemingly hanging on every word of Port's ludicrous tale. Jaune gave a very slight laugh at that and continued turning his head, analyzing the last of the classroom.

Nothing. Every other student was either asleep, trying to sleep, or doodling. Jaune shook his head and laid down on the desk, wondering if he could sleep through the remainder of the period unnoticed.

"Mr. Arc!" Came a bellowing but still jovial voice that Jaune easily recognized after five minutes of rest.

_"Guess not."_ Jaune quickly thought, his head snapping to attention instantly, "Yes, sir?" The blond asked, hoping Port hadn't noticed his sleeping.

Rather than the portly professor's greeting him as he expected however, Jaune heard a far more terrifying voice address him, a voice that would send chills down the spines of most men. The voice of an annoyed Glynda Goodwitch.

"If you're quite done with your nap, Mr. Arc," She said with a harsh edge to her voice, "I have been instructed to bring you to Professor Ozpin." Jaune involuntarily gulped and darted his eyes to Pyrrha who held a similar expression.

Luckily for the duo, before Goodwitch noticed the two's odd behavior, the blonde teacher's attention was drawn by Nora. "Oooooooooooohhhhh!" The ginger yelled happily, "Jaune's in trouble!" Pointing at Jaune with a silly grin on her face and unintentionally waking Ren. Nora quickly silenced herself with a high-pitched 'Eep!' as both Ren and Goodwitch sent glares in the red-head's direction.

Goodwitch gritted her teeth slightly, now visibly annoyed at Nora's distractions and Jaune's sleepiness. "If you'll please follow me." She said with a quiet fury hidden in her voice.

Jaune nodded quickly, packing his bag as fast as his hands would allow and racing after the blonde sorceress. Jaune quietly followed Goodwitch, doing his best to maintain a poker face and praying to Oum that he was wrong about what Ozpin wished to speak to him about.

* * *

Jaune followed Goodwitch towards Professor Ozpin's office for several minutes, spending the time in constant worry about his potential punishment. Jaune's fearful thoughts were interrupted however by a forced cough, courtesy of the blonde teacher, bringing Jaune back to reality and simultaneously informing him that they'd reached their destination.

Without any other warning Goodwitch opened the door and stepped inside, motioning for Jaune to follow, "Professor, I have retrieved Mister Arc as you requested." Goodwitch said in her usual business-like tone.

"Thank you Glynda." Came the immediately recognizable voice of Professor Ozpin who was sat at his desk, sipping at a mug of what was most likely coffee and reading something from his scroll.

The grey-haired man hadn't even made eye-contact with either of the blondes before he spoke again, "Mister Arc, please take a seat. I promise this won't take long." He said, setting down his mug with a final slurp and turning his head upwards to face the two, "Glynda, would you please excuse us?" He asked politely but forcefully.

Jaune barely noticed the scowl Goodwitch gave before delivering a curt, 'Of Course' and leaving the two men.

Ozpin waited until Jaune took the offered seat before he spoke again, "Hello, Mr. Arc." He began, "How are you?" Jaune gave a small shrug, "Fine, Professor." He said, "I was just in the middle of a lecture with Professor Port." Ozpin nodded, taking a moment to adjust his spectacles before speaking, "Well I promise not to keep you very long then." He said, now reaching for his scroll, "I just had to speak with you over some oddities that have occurred over the past several weeks."

Jaune gulped slightly as Ozpin refocused his gaze on the tablet's screen, "First is Miss Nikos' and yours' odd appearance after curfew several weeks ago." The green-clad man said, turning the tablet around to face Jaune, the screen presenting a picture eerily similar to the one Weiss had blackmailed Jaune with around that time.

"While it is not particularly odd for students to be out so late, Miss Nikos state of being at the time raises several questions." Ozpin said dryly. Jaune, unsure as to how he should respond, elected to use the patented, "Uhhhh…" Filibuster.

Ozpin ignored this, "Then comes the matter of Miss Schnee's… Odd behavior the next day and her subsequent disappearances after classes." Ozpin continued, "This happening soon after you spoke with her in team RWBY's dorm room… Alone." Ozpin clearly was becoming more confused as he recounted the tale.

"Then we have Miss Valkyrie's destruction of one of the school's chess sets and hurling it into the forest a week ago… Followed immediately by your team's robbery of the school's kitchen…"

At this point Ozpin took off his glasses and began massaging the bridge of his nose. "Mister Arc, could you please explain these events?" The aged hunter both asked and demanded. Jaune bit his tongue then sighed before speaking, "Chess, sir." He said dismissively.

Ozpin took a sip of his drink, "Chess?" The old hunter asked, leaning back in his chair and cocking his eyebrow; His interest clearly piqued, "Please explain."

* * *

"...So it was either let Pyrrha and Nora fight it out or make them something to calm them down." Jaune finished, realizing the slim odds of Ozpin believing his ludicrous tale. To Ozpin's credit, he didn't say a word during Jaune's recounting of the past few weeks; Assessing each detail of Jaune's story and keeping his face impassive the entire time.

"Is that all?" The headmaster said after several moments of silence.

"Yes, sir." Jaune said, nodding shyly.

"Very well." Ozpin said, his hand reaching beneath his desk and extracting a worn chess board, confusing Jaune.

"Professor?" Jaune asked.

Ozpin began to organize the pieces onto the board, placing the white pieces before himself. "Your story, while incredibly ridiculous, is still technically possible." Ozpin said, handing Jaune the black pieces to assemble, "However I find it incredibly doubtful that you would defeat both Miss Schnee and Mister Lie in a game of chess, the latter of whom I know to be something of a champion." He said, finishing his arrangement.

"So if you are as skilled as your story suggests, I will believe you and you will not face any repercussions." He said, awaiting Jaune to finish his arrangement. "But if you cannot convince me," The professor said seriously, "There will be consequences."

Jaune gulped at the professor's words but summoned what courage he could and nodded. "O-Of course." He stuttered.

Ozpin stared down Jaune for another moment before returning his attention to the board, "Very well." He said, advancing his Queen's pawn forward two spaces, "Let us begin."

* * *

Jaune's nervousness persisted but he buried it deep within himself as he examined the board carefully, attempting to formulate a strategy as early as possible. "Sometime today, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said quietly after roughly a minute of waiting.

_"Fuck it."_ Jaune said internally, unable to formulate a strategy this early in the game. The blond advanced the pawn before his King's Bishop two spaces.

Ozpin wasted no time in his movements, electing to move the pawn guarding his Queen's Bishop two spaces forward and beside his other pawn.

"So this is what it's like playing against me." Jaune quietly mused, advancing his Queen's Knight so it stood behind his pawn. Ozpin mirrored the move silently, his brown eyes not giving anything away.

Jaune was beyond nervous, both at his Professor's painfully evident skill as well as the overhanging threat of punishment. Jaune stared at the board another twenty seconds before he finally advanced the pawn guarding his King one space forward.

Ozpin paused slightly before he moved again, his face still neutral, before maneuvering his Knight forward and to the left so it resided two spaces in front of his King's Bishop.

Jaune advanced the pawn ahead of his Queen two spaces, a slight jitter in his hand as it advanced his piece.

Ozpin then moved his pawn in front of his King a single space. Jaune wasted no time in moving the pawn before his Queen's Bishop forward a single space. The green-clad hunter reciprocated Jaune's speed and moved his King's bishop so it resided beside his Knight and pawn. Jaune mirrored the move and placed his bishop between his two pawn and awaited his Headmaster's move.

Ozpin cracked a small smile as he moved his King and Rook simultaneously, saying a single sentence, "I've always been fond of Castling." The grey-haired man said with a voice that held no mercy. Jaune again reciprocated the move, electing to remain silent.

Ozpin sighed, "Mr. Arc," He said, retreating his Knight back so it laid diagonal to his other Knight and Bishop, "If you intend to simply mirror my moves, I suggest you forfeit now." Ozpin finished, not particularly fond of the idea of his time being wasted. Jaune remained silent, moving his Queen's Knight so it stood between his Queen and relocated Bishop.

Ozpin sighed once more, confident that the match would be over soon, and moved his knight forward aggressively so it rested diagonal to Jaune's Knight. Jaune smiled slightly now, "Check." He said quietly, sliding his Bishop into position to take Ozpin's King.

Ozpin's face remained neutral as he simply slid his King one space to the side and out of Jaune's grasp. "A tad too aggressive." Ozpin remarked to himself. Jaune did not think so it seemed, as he advanced his Knight forward now so it stood directly behind Ozpin's own White Knight.

Ozpin was not fazed by the sudden incursion into his territory and advanced the pawn that once guarded his King's Bishop two spaces so it stood beside Jaune's invading Black Knight.

Jaune next moved his Queen one space to the side, ignoring Ozpin's exposed Knight, "Hmph." The Headmaster hummed, confused by the decision as he advanced the pawn that once guarded his King's Knight forward a single space so it directly faced Jaune's own Knight.

Jaune continued his advance as he moved his Queen closer now so it stood beside Ozpin's leading Knight. Ozpin sipped at his mug and moved his King diagonally so it still stood beside Jaune's Bishop.

Ozpin cocked his eyebrow as Jaune moved the aforementioned Bishop so that it now stood beside Ozpin's Rook. "Interesting." The Professor said as he took the offered piece with his Knight rather than his Rook.

Jaune reacted immediately and placed his Queen beside Ozpin's King… And in a position to be taken by his Knight. "Check." Jaune said.

Ozpin smiled as he was forced to retreat his King, _"Perhaps this wasn't a waste of time."_ Ozpin silently remarked, noting the cleverness of that maneuver.

Jaune next moved his pawn forward, forming a wall of three pawns along the fifth row of spaces. Ozpin took the newly moved piece with the pawn directly leading his Bishop. Jaune returned the favor by retaking the spot with his back-most Knight. Ozpin smiled as he took the offered Knight with his other pawn. Jaune made a final advance with his remaining Knight and finished the pawn. Securing the spot as his own.

"Well done." Ozpin said genuinely, advancing his King forward a space and finding it easier to believe Jaune's story though he was still not entirely convinced.

"Thank you, sir." Jaune said humbly, retreating his remaining Knight from the hard-fought tile so it resided directly in front of Ozpin's foremost Knight and in position to take Ozpin's king, "Check". Ozpin scanned the board for several seconds and, finding no other options, retreated his Knight back once more. Jaune quickly gave chase with his pawn.

Ozpin noted the aggressiveness of Jaune's movements silently, _"He's confident."_ The Professor thought, taking the advancing pawn with one of his own. Despite his noting of Jaune's slight prowess with Chess, Ozpin was still confident in his own success. The aged Professor hadn't lost a game in over twenty years and he sincerely doubted he would meet anybody that could beat him for some time.

Jaune quickly slid his remaining Bishop into position diagonal to Ozpin's king during the Professor's thoughts. "Check." He said.

Ozpin returned to reality at this time and noted the… Odd movement by Jaune. After several seconds of analysis, Ozpin saw no option but to take the poorly placed piece. "Odd decision." The educator remarked dryly, silencing the last black Bishop.

Jaune remained silent as he moved his Knight into position to take Ozpin's King once more, saying a simple "Check"

Ozpin again took the Knight without trouble, moving his pawn to eliminate the Knight but remained silent this time, curious to Jaune's overall goals.

Jaune smiled a devious smile as he took hold of his unmoved pawn that once guarded his King's Rook. "Checkmate." The blond said, moving the piece into position to take Ozpin's King and trapping the unfortunate piece. Ozpin glanced at the board and could feel a blood vessel in his eye pop.

* * *

Ozpin observed the board quietly for a moment, processing what Jaune had said. "Very well, Mr. Arc." Ozpin said, taking a sip of his mug, voice calm as ever. "You are free to go." He said, voice and tone still neutral, completely unaffected by the loss he'd just suffered at the hands of the blond.

"Thank you, sir." The aforementioned blond said with a slight bow, still nervous and hoping to avoid offending the teacher. Ozpin nodded as Jaune left the room, shutting the door quietly and making his way back to his dorm, "Class'll be finished by now." Jaune reasoned to himself, allowing a sigh of relief to spread throughout his body, "Thank Oum that's over." He thought, beginning a jog back to his dorm room.

* * *

Ozpin waited until he heard the door to his office close before he too let out a sigh, "It was a good run." He said, finishing the last of his mug and strolling to the window in his office. He opened the glass portal, allowing a breath of fresh air to enter the dusty room as he returned to his work-space.

The green-clad hunter carefully grasped the wooden board still occupying his desk, taking a moment to appreciate the memories the worn wood held. "But all things must end." He said, tossing the wooden board outside the freshly opened window and closing the glass pane.

Ozpin stood awkwardly for several seconds, uncharacteristically unsure of what to do. "Suppose I'd best order a new one." The headmaster remarked dryly, entirely oblivious to the wooden game-board's shattering onto and fracturing of the skull of an unfortunate Cardin Winchester.

* * *

**A/N: Evening guys, I hope you enjoyed this particular chapter as much as I know you've enjoyed the previous ones.**

**I'd also like to thank all of you who continue to read this story for the 69 Favorites and 81 Follows as of finishing this chapter!**

**Finally, if you guys have any suggestions, please feel free to message me or leave them in a review at your leisure. That being said, I currently have one more game in mind before I take any suggestions but do not let that discourage you! The only restrictions I place are that they not be any of the people I list below though that list is subject to change as time goes on.**

**(No Goodwitch, Cinder, Roman, Nora, Yang, Emerald, Mercury, Blake, Sun, or CRDL)**


	5. Match 5: Queen Vs Knight

**A/N: Legends spoke that on July 20th, One year after this story's publication, the author would update it. Most assumed this to be simply a rumor as the author was well known as a procrastinating asshole who can't for the life of him update his damn stories. However some few held out hope that perhaps he WOULD update one the anniversary of his story. Those few believers…. They were right.**

**(And no, I didn't save this chapter for months just to say that little spiel, I just noticed the date approaching and it kicked me into overdrive.)**

**Also, very important notes at the bottom of this that I advise you read after you finish the chapter.**

* * *

**Also, to make it clearer how the moves progress for the match, I modified the way I represent each move. It is as follows:**

**_J:_ **Pawn to A2

**_(Player's Initial)__:_**_ (Piece) (Movement Location)_

**Just so everyone is clear as to what these mean, because in earlier chapters some people were confused by my wording of the matches so I've made an update to be clearer.**

* * *

**Match 5: Arc Vs Fall**

* * *

"Serain's performance appears to be dropping." Emerald said offhandedly, running her hand down the end of the list and mentally preparing herself to sleep, "It could be just general nerves for the tournament, but it seems far too pronounced."

"Hmmm," Cinder hummed as she contemplated the development, "Keep monitoring him until the tournament. It could be that we were just a tad too generous in our evaluation. Who's left?" She asked.

"Just the Invincible Girl." Mercury said from his own bed, "No surprise, she's still undefeated. And doesn't show any signs of slowing down."

Cinder hid a small smile as she heard Mercury mention Pyrrha, she'd be lying to herself if she didn't admit that Miss Nikos was one of the favorite entries to their list. The way she controlled her opponents as she fought, how she used her Semblance with enough force to ensure victory yet remain hidden, she'd be lying if she said she hadn't been looking forward to this part.

"Hmmm, well then it seems as though we'll need to find another means to… Handle her…" She said, turning to Emerald, "Do we have any other leads we can explore?"

The mint-haired thief glanced at her list and any additional notes near Pyrrha's name, "Just two. Her mother and her partner. And it looks as though the maternal route is far more difficult and will likely take longer."

A hint of disappointment flashed across Cinder's face, "Very well," She said, "I suppose we'll have to wait to learn about her mother until later. For now tell me about her partner, he must be of _some_ note to be with Miss Nikos."

Mercury burst into a fit of laughter, earning a glare from Emerald.

"Something to share Mercury?" Cinder said evenly, not perturbed by her underlings outburst as Emerald was.

The aforementioned underling slowed his laughter, "Well, I wouldn't exactly say he's _skilled_."

Cinder cocked an eyebrow and Emerald sighed, "His name is Jaune Arc. His records show him under-performing as compared to his classmates and team especially for much of the first semester before making a gradual rise over the past few months." She explained.

"Hmm." Cinder hummed again, _"Pity then?" _She questioned internally, _"Perhaps not the most stable of virtues. Perhaps we'd best focus on her direct fami-"_

"However," Emerald continued, oblivious to her Cinder's internal deliberation, "There's also a few rumors that she unlocked his Aura for him and is assisting in training him."

"_Unlocked his Aura? And training? No. Not pity… Something… Something deeper…" _Cinder smiled, "Tell me, how close are the two?" She asked.

Emerald and Mercury both turned to her confused, "If we assume the rumors are true then very..." Emerald said, "Even if she didn't unlock his Aura the two are still with one another rather frequently."

Cinder hummed as she digested this information, "Very well." She said, "Are there any means by which we can reach this… Arc was his name?"

Emerald nodded and glanced at her list once again, "Well, it looks like there's one way..."

* * *

"Oh sweet Dust, someone kill me." Jaune said, falling to his knees and heaving heavily towards the black track field.

"Oh come on Jaune." Nora said playfully despite the workout, "It's only the…" The ginger girl began to idly count on her fingers.

"Eighteenth…" Came the exasperated voice of Ren, the green-clad hunter collapsing behind Jaune. There was must that Ren was skilled at in terms of being a hunter, but Cardio was not his strong suit.

"Yeah! It's only the eighteenth lap!" Nora said, pulling on Jaune's arm. She was misleadingly strong and before Jaune knew it he was back on his (shaky) feet, "Now come on! Pyrrha's already two laps ahead of us!"

"Three." The aforementioned redhead said as she once more passed them, breathing heavily but still going strong.

Jaune made a face resembling that a small child, "Why doesn't Ren have to…?" He whined, pointing towards the other male of JNPR, still laid out on the track.

"Because he's sleepy!" Nora said, darting away with as much energy as she'd had when they began, "Besides it's just this one last lap and we're done!"

Jaune gave a huff and slowly jogged the last quarter of the track, eventually making his way back to an barely conscious Ren, a still energetic Nora, and a huffing Pyrrha.

"Oh Dust…" Jaune said, making his way towards the nearest bench and collapsing beside it, "I can't feel my legs."

Ren grumbled something inaudible which Jaune assumed was to the likeness of 'Join the Club' from his own position beside Nora.

"You did well today." Pyrrha said encouragingly, "And besides, it's over now so just use your Aura to heal any soreness."

"Or eat a Senzu BeaOOOOFF!" Ren said snarkily as Nora jumped on his back.

"Oh yeah…" Jaune said dumbly, activating his Aura and glowing a faint white as his soreness suddenly left him, "Thank you Deus Ex Machina…"

"Anyway." Nora said, hopping off Ren's back, "Me and Pyrrha and gonna go train some more. Are you guys coming?"

"N-" Ren began.

"No, I'm good for now. I'll catch up with you guys after dinner." Jaune said, cutting off Ren.

"Oh... okay." Pyrrha said in a slightly disappointed tone that was lost on Jaune.

"Okay then!" Nora said as cheerful as ever, "C'mon, Ren! We need to go!"

"Wait, what?" The exhausted boy said, "But I thought…"

"We need at least one man there to watch our stuff Ren, DUH!" Nora said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "No buts! Let's move!"

Jaune ignored the death glare from Ren and bid the two girls and an unfortunate Ren farewell before making his way back towards the team's shared dorm.

* * *

Once he'd showered and changed out of his sweaty clothes, Jaune decided to make his way towards the school's center plaza to simply relax in the quiet atmosphere of the weekend as he waited. He wasn't sure how but Jaune simply knew that he'd need to be here for some reason today. He also had an odd feeling that whatever it was, it'd be really flipping annoyin-

"Hello?" Came a voice from behind him.

Jaune closed his eyes and let out a small sigh, _"Called it." _He thought, lamenting his foresight, "Yes?"

Jaune finally turned to face the girl and noticed several things:

Firstly, she was wearing a Haven uniform.

Secondly, she was clearly not a student. Which briefly begged the question of why she was wearing it.

However these two were overshadowed by one more observation.

This girl (Or woman rather…) was gorgeous! Which begged the question in Jaune's mind of, _'Why is she talking to me?'_

"Pardon me." She said, "But are you Jaune Arc?"

"Why," Jaune said, putting on his 'macho' voice, "Yes I am. What can I do for you…?"

* * *

Internally Cinder decided that she'd need to break Jaune's arm sometime down the road, _"Oh I'm simply smitten." _She mocked, "Ahh, good." She said in an annoyingly cheery tone, "I've been looking for you."

"And what can the Jaune-Meister do for you?" Jaune continued in his really-not-so-macho tone.

"_I think I'll break both your arms actually." _

"Well, I've heard you're the resident Chess Champion here at Beacon, and I've been dying for a chance to play against someone skilled." She lied, "I'm afraid that most of the other students who came to Haven aren't particularly good and I've had something of a craving for a game."

Jaune's goofy smile remained but at the mention of Chess, he died a little on the inside. _"WHY!? WHY IS IT ALWAYS F****** CHESS!" _He monologued, _"WHY DID PYRRHA GET THAT F****** BOARD!"_

If Jaune were to be completely honest; Despite his skill at the game Chess had become something of a nuisance for him since coming to Beacon. From Weiss' constant demands for rematches (The score was 17-0 at the moment. Jaune's favor). To the property damage charges he had to deal with whenever he played against Ren with Nora watching (As it turns out, a chessboard CAN bend a steel beam if thrown hard enough)... It had lost some of its appeal.

But…. Cinder's tone had stirred a certain curiosity in Jaune. 'To play against someone skilled' she'd said, Jaune had played against one of the visiting students and he'd been quite good. About at Ren's skill level in fact. If she considered that average…

"I guess I could play a game." Jaune said reluctantly, "But it'll have to be fast. I have to train later."

"_Once I get what I need," _She responded internally,_ "I'll finish it quickly. Don't worry."_

Cinder beamed at him and began to lead him towards a table she'd already prepared, "Not a problem, I'll make this quick."

* * *

Taking the seat facing the black side of the board, Cinder spoke, "Since I'm challenging you, you may go first."

Jaune nodded, taking his own seat and examining his pieces. His normally goofy personality somewhat shrank away as he began to plan out his moves. After a long twenty seconds, Jaune settled on a strategy for the beginning of the match.

* * *

**_J:_**_ Pawn to E4_

Cinder on the other hand wasted no time in her efforts, quickly seizing her piece and positioning herself to face Jaune better.

**_C:_**_ Pawn to C5_

"So, Jaune." Cinder began, wasting no time, "I've heard that you are partnered with Miss Nikos."

The idle comment gave Jaune pause as Cinder assumed and the sorceress smiled internally, _"Perfect."_

**_J: _**_Knight to F3_

"Yeah..." Jaune said moving his piece, his mind slightly less focused on the game and curious as to Cinder's point.

**_C:_**_ Pawn to D6_

The dark-haired woman flashed a false smile and adopted an overly-cheery tone, "That must be so exciting being partnered with her. She's so skilled, I bet everyone's jealous!"

Jaune relaxed slightly, seemingly eased by Cinder's innocent comments, "Yeah, she's pretty great. She's helped me out a lot more than I bet anyone else could have." A chuckle escaped him, "And I'm sure at least a few people are jealous of me. Especially a few of the guys…" He added somewhat quietly.

**_J:_**_ Pawn to D4_

"_Oh you dense boy." _Cinder sighed internally, "Yes, I imagine so. She's quite beautiful. I'm surprised nobody's asked her to…" Cinder chose not to finish her sentence and instead watched for Jaune's expression as he decided how to best finish the sentence

**_C:_**_ Pawn to D4, Take White Pawn_

The blond knight's expression became noticeably more reserved following her comment, Cinder noticed easily, _"Sore spot I see." _She chuckled to herself.

"Yeah well… I suppose she can be a bit intimidating at first to most guys…" He said, "The only reason I even spoke to her was because I didn't realize who she was at first."

**_J:_**_ Knight to D4, Take Black Pawn_

"Oh?" Cinder said surprised. _"How in the hell didn't you?"_

**_C:_**_ Knight to F6_

"Yeah," Jaune said somewhat reflectively, "I… Hehehe… I kinda hit on her when we first met because of it."

**_J:_**_ Knight to C3_

"_Okay, this is going nowhere fast." _Cinder thought, resisting a sigh. "What about afterwards?" She asked, changing topics slightly, "Surely you must have realized who she was and looked for her in the forest?"

**_C:_**_ Pawn to A6_

Jaune chuckled, "No actually. She found me after…. After spearing me to a tree."

**_J:_**_ Bishop to E3_

Cinder gaped slightly, unsure as to whether Jaune was joking. _"Okay. Miss Nikos is VERY fond of this boy. Keep a note of that." _She noted, mildly perturbed by Miss Niko's apparent fascination with a boy she'd then only just met.

_**C:** __Pawn to E6_

"That isn't even the only time she saved me in the forest. Later on when we were looking for the relic…."

**_J:_**_ Pawn to F3_

* * *

**Thirty or so moves and several more Pyrrha-Centric Stories Later...**

* * *

"I… I see..." Cinder said, more than slightly dumbfounded by Jaune's stories. _"What the actual hell?" _She silently pondered as she tried to wrap her head around the utter madness that was Miss Nikos' devotion to this boy. Cinder's perspective had in fact been more than slightly warped as a result of Jaune's… Revelations regarding Pyrrha.

While yes, Cinder could not deny Pyrrha's status as an amazing warrior, neither could she ignore the many quirks Jaune's openness about her had revealed. She was hardly the commanding champion who manipulated her opponents to achieve victory. She was… She was closer to Dust-Damn obsessed girlfriend than anything else!

Regardless, amidst the ridiculous exploits Miss Nikos and Mister Arc had experienced together and subsequent warping of her opinion, Cinder had confirmed some valuable information for the future. Notably Pyrrha's training of Jaune and her hesitance to use her semblance.

"_That's... More than enough information about Miss Nikos I think." _Cinder decided ultimately, cataloging this information away for now and decided to focus once more upon her and Jaune's match. Uncomfortable at the prospect of further learning about Miss Nikos.

**_C:_**_ Pawn to H6_

**_J:_**_ Bishop to B4_

"_Okay good she's done." _Jaune thought, relieved, _"Damn fangirls."_

Cinder was hardly the first person to come to Jaune as a way of finding out information about Pyrrha, so over the course of the year he'd developed a few ways of… Deterring them from asking too much.

**_C: _**_Queen to E3_

"_Chocolate Cake?" _Cinder lamented, amazed at the athlete's apparent allergy to the treat.

**_J:_**_ Rook to D7, Take Black Knight_

Usually Jaune started with some blatant lies in an attempt to throw them off. Usually minor things such as Pyrrha's 'allergy' to chocolate. That particular lie had worked rather well for team JNPR as they now regularly received an array of chocolate dishes from other students just before tournaments, much to Nora and Pyrrha's delight.

**_C:_**_ King to D7, Take White Rook_

"_Still though. I can't believe she'd choose HIM of all people as a partner." _Cinder considered, _"She relies too much on emotion. The little Schnee heiress would have been a much sounder decision."_

**_J:_**_ Bishop to F8, Take Black Rook_

Jaune did however tell some minor truths to those who asked to make the other lies appear more believable. Usually they concerned himself; Such as Pyrrha's saving of him in the forest when he was falling during initiation, or her offer to train him. These were mostly harmless and could be easily verified if someone were particularly nosy.

But luckily he hadn't been forced to give too much away about himself and Jaune returned his focus to the game.

**_C:_**_ Queen to E4, Take White Pawn_

"And the Queen shall conquer…" Cinder quietly said, glancing towards the large CCT Tower in Vale.

**_J:_**_ Queen to F7, Take Black Pawn_

**_C:_**_ King to C6_

The pyromancer's face remained passive as she moved her king but inside she felt a faint sense of excitement. She could feel the match was beginning to draw to a close.

**_J:_**_ Pawn to H4_

Jaune's face on the other hand appeared passive, Cinder noticed. Seemingly oblivious to the match's coming conclusion.

**_C:_**_ Queen to D5, Check_

Cinder felt a small smile break through as she moved her piece into position. This was the moment she enjoyed most in these games. Not when she forced another player into submission, but when she forced them to continue along lines she'd determined.

The she-witch turned up to face Jaune, her expression subdued but positively radiating with confidence as she scanned Jaune's own countenance, expecting to see the uneasiness and tension she'd long grow accustomed to dealing with in these kinds of games

**_J:_**_ King to B1_

However rather than the tension she'd been clamoring for, the vulnerability she'd sought to exploit, Cinder simply noticed Jaune release a small gasp of relief following his move.

**_C:_**_ Queen to D1, Check_

Cinder frowned, _"What is he planning?" _She pondered, seizing her Queen and once more forcing Jaune's king to move.

**_J:_**_ King to A2_

Nothing. No tension or uneasiness. No scheming nor desperation.

**_C: _**_Queen to D5, Check_

Cinder once again looked up at Jaune's face, expecting his expression to finally crack and display his nervousness but the blond hunter-to-be's face remained calm and gave nothing away to Cinder.

**_J:_**_ King to B1_

The pyromancer could sense a small smile hidden behind Jaune's passive face as he moved his piece once more, further infuriating Cinder. _"What are you up to?" _She questioned, seizing her piece.

**_C:_** _Queen to D-_

Cinder's movement stopped as she analyzed the board once again, finally realizing Jaune's ploy., "How did…"She said, looking for another space to move. _"You clever boy, you." _She thought silently.

Jaune had forced himself and Cinder into a draw.

* * *

"_Well... This certainly is surprising." _She mused internally, seeing no means of breaking the stalemate. _"That's… Quite impressive actually…"_

"_Oh thank Dust that's over."_ Jaune huffed with relief, "You are really good." Jaune said simply, "I need to head back now but we should have another match some time soon."

Cinder gave a small hum to acknowledge Jaune's offer as she contemplated the match's conclusion, uncharacteristically unsure of what to do. _"Of course I was prodding him for information about Miss Nikos so I may not have been playing at my best but... He should have been similarly distracted by my questioning. This should have been an easy victory. _Cinder quickly assessed. _"He must be quite gifted tactically."_

Suddenly an idea popped into her mind.

* * *

"_Dust, glad that's over." _Jaune said to himself as he began to move away from his opponent, _"It's like she's from a magazine, she was so interested in Pyrrha. Wait? Is she? Is that why she looks so much olde-"_

"Actually Jaune," Cinder said slowly before he could move a significant distance away, "It strikes me now, that throughout our entire match I only ever asked you about your partner."

The pyromancer began to realign the pieces, "It seems quite rude of myself and I do apologize." She said, hiding a small, mischievous smile as she turned to the young, blond hunter, "Please, if you'd be so kind as to join me for another game, I'd like to get to know yourself a little better."

* * *

**_Meanwhile_**

Pyrrha paused in the midst of her kick, momentarily stunned as an odd feeling of jealousy came over her, "I don't know why but I feel like I need to punch a bitch." She said in a tone that was far too harsh for the precious cinnamon roll.

Nora giggled from behind, the bubbly ginger having heard the redhead's comment, "Oh. I get that a lot too! Usually whenever Ren talks to that Eris girl in Peach's class!"

As Nora said this, the aforementioned girl appeared at the corner of Nora's vision, making a beeline for one Asian gunslinger in particular. "Speaking of which…" Nora said in an oddly cheery tone, making her way towards the unfortunate girl.

* * *

Jaune, the model of perception and awareness, could only deduce one thing from Cinder's choice of words. Unfortunately rather than realizing Cinder was now prodding _him_ for information, his immediate thought was instead this, _"Is she hitting on me?"_

And Jaune, once again the very model of composure and grace under pressure responded the only appropriate way to an attractive female hitting on him. "Oh Umm... Maybe another time. I actually need to go..." He said quickly, his face flushing slightly and his pace momentarily quickening.

* * *

**Meanwhile Again...**

Pyrrha stopped as if frozen momentarily, "What is that!?" She demanded, her Jaune-Senses tingling once more and overpowering the noises of explosives and screaming coming from where Nora had walked to.

* * *

Cinder resisted the urge to roll her eyes, _"Dense as a Dust-Damned rock, but clever nonetheless." _She thought, turning to face him and casting Jaune a look of dejection, "Ahh, I understand." She said laying disappointment heavily into her words, "I'm sure you're very busy."

The ploy worked and Jaune slowly relented, seemingly hypnotized with a desire to not disappoint her, "I… Suppose I could play _One_ more game before I head back…" He said slowly, _"Dust damn puppy face."_

* * *

The small smile broke through and Cinder simpered at Jaune, "Fantastic." She said as Jaune took his seat once more, "Just one more game."

Jaune nodded and his small competitive nature shone through his awkwardness in the form of a smirk, "Alright," He said, taking the white side once again.

**_J:_**_ Pawn to E4_

Cinder smiled, _"Oh this is going to be fun…"_

**_C:_**_ Pawn to C5_

* * *

**A/N: Despite what the last line implies this is actually the last chapter of the central story line. It seemed fitting to make it ambiguous as to whether Jaune or Cinder is truly the better chess player as they both tied when they were distracted and now at their full attention they have a match. So who wins? No clue. How about Nora? Fuck it, yeah! Nora Wins! The True Queen of the Castle!**

**Anyway onto more notes, I am serious when I say the main line of this story is done. Volume 3 and onward doesn't matter. This story's central plot is finished forever.**

**However, before anyone whines at me, I _could_ write more humorous matches between other characters in various scenarios. Someone suggested Speed Chess featuring Oobleck and I've been sat on a parody of Deep Blue featuring Penny since the Ren chapter.**

**Honestly I don't know if these will happen, time constraints and if I actually can write a good version of the chapters are the biggest obstacles and they are aplenty. For reference I wrote 8 different full versions of this chapter during the giant break and scrapped all of them as none of them felt quite right. Hell, even this version I have a few serious issues with but decided I couldn't hold this out anymore.**

**Big things to take away from these notes though? Nora Wins apparently. Central Plot is over. Other one-shots MAY happen but I'm not binding myself to that given the months it's been since the last part and I don't feel like leading you people on like that again.**

**Most of all though I'd like to thank all of you for reading this story; following, reviewing, favoriting, and in general being pretty god-damn great people. I'm finished now but again, I thank each and every one of you for making this so much fun to write. Without further filler, I bid each and every one of you adieu for what I assume will be the foreseeable future.**

**Oh and if anyone wants to know what the moves I cut out were, the match I used for this chapter is Deep Junior Vs Fritz. If you wanna look that up to see go right ahead. I basically cut them because they would have just been needless padding to extend the chapter if I kept them.**


	6. Match 6: Surprise!

**A/N: So apparently the only way to get me to update this story is to release a new Volume or for the anniversary to occur. Good to know!**

**Well it looks like I lied about last chapter being the end of the main story because, as it turns out, THIS chapter exists! Sorry for jerking y'all around but Volume 3 premiere plus having to kill three hours turned into this point, Who the Fuck knows whether this is the end!? Screw closure! Let's wing this until the end!**

* * *

And so Jaune went on with his life following his match against Cinder whom he still thought was a little uncomfortably curious about Pyrrha for what was clearly neither a student nor visiting teacher. _"Why was she wearing a school uniform anyway?" _Jaune often wondered.

Fan service was the obvious answer to his question, but thankfully that didn't matter anymore, as the clearly older woman who in no way could be confused for an adolescent student hadn't felt the need to confront him after their last match in which [Withdrawn] had emerged victorious.

Luckily the details of the match hadn't gotten out to any of the other students around school in any way in which they could know who had actually won the match and inform the reader (Yes. YOU), largely due to either having more important things to do than gossip about chess of all things, or due their attention having been fixated on subduing one Nora Valkyrie who'd assaulted another student after they'd spoken to Ren during the course of the last chapter. Charges are currently pending.

What this did not stop however was the select few chess fanatics around Beacon Academy from still attempting to challenge his streak. These included a girl with pink and brown hair whom everyone insisted was mute but who'd told Jaune after their match that she in fact, "Just didn't speak to bitches," Professo-Err… DOCTOR Oobleck who'd demanded a speed round, and some KPOP-looking motherfucker from team SSSN who was bored.

So suffice to say that Jaune had been busy over the past week. However he'd emerged from each match victorious with only a detention from Doctor Oobleck, and a 'small' stab wound from the hetero-chromatic-girl (As well as her phone number for some reason he couldn't comprehend).

However once Jaune had served his detention (and avoided bleeding out,) things only seemed to look up for Jaune!

But by virtue of you reading this story, you and I both know that this simply wasn't going to last. And because this is a new chapter and not a spin-off story, you know it's going to be resolved by a chess match.

So who is this new challenger!?

What could their motivation be!?

Why can't you guess from the title!?

* * *

**Match 6: Winter is Coming**

* * *

"WEISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" Ruby yelled, "WHERE ARE YOUUUUU!?"

Weiss snapped awake and turned to Ruby with a growl, "What do you need Ruby?" She snapped, "Can't you see I'm busy at the moment!?"

A moment passed and Ruby scanned Weiss, "It looks like you just woke up. And we're just playing with Zwei…"

Weiss' eyes turned to daggers and grabbed the nearest pillow, "Three…" She let out slowly…

Ruby's eyes bulged, "I just wanted to tell you that your sister going to be here soon and that Professor Ozpin sent me to tell you!" As she finished, the young reaper disappeared in a flurry of rose petals, having faced an irritated Weiss many times and it having never been pleasant.

"My sister?" Weiss said slowly, lowering the nearest pillow, "Oh… Winter. Fu-"

* * *

"Hey, Jaune." Weiss said, "Have a minute?"

"Uh," The blond knight said, opening the door to the JNPR dorm, "Sure…? I was just…"

"Yeah, great." The heiress said, cutting him off, "So listen, I'm gonna need a favor…"

Jaune narrowed his eyes, "I'm not playing another match with you."

"This isn't about that!" Weiss said angrily, "And why not?!" She added after another moment.

Jaune's frown sank, "Because the score is 62-0 and the last... Eight times you lost you smashed the table into my face."

"61-0, Thank you very much!" Weiss corrected, "And I don't want you to play against me, today!"

"Okay then what is this about?" He asked hurriedly, he'd needed to train with Pyrrha today and he hated keeping her waiting. Especially on squat days which Pyrrha had recently been focusing on for some reason…

Weiss paused for a moment almost shyly, "I need you to play against my sister…" She said quietly.

A dull silence passed between the two for several seconds.

* * *

"Leave." Jaune said.

"I'll pay you." Weiss said.

"Leave." Jaune said.

"I'll get the charges against Nora dropped."

Jaune paused, "How would you even do that?" He asked.

"Do you realize how many lawyers my father has on retainer? All of them are yours to get Nora off as long as you play a game against my sister." The younger Schnee bargained.

Jaune contemplated the offer, "Fine. But why do you want me to play her anyway?"

"I need time to clean the room, prep Yang and Ruby, knockout Blake…" Weiss explained.

"What was that last one?" Jaune asked concerned.

"Does it matter?" Weiss said, pulling Jaune out his dorm before he could respond, "Now c'mon, she's in the main plaza waiting already."

"Wait won't it be weird that some random guy just walked up to her and challenged her to a chess match?"

"I already told her I sent you to entertain her while I prepared things, now go!" Weiss said, shoving Jaune along the hall, "She doesn't like being kept waiting!"

"_It's gonna be one of these days isn't it?" _Jaune asked himself, _"Oh, better send a message to Pyrrha."_

As he made his way towards the square, Jaune typed a quick message to his partner and went along his way.

* * *

_'New Message From… Jaune'_ Pyrrha's scrolled said. "Thank you, Jen." Pyrrha said to the electronic helper, "Now what is taking him so-"

'Hey Pyr, I'm gonna be late for our session tonight. Weiss begged me to play a chess match against her sister to distract her. On the plus side I think Nora might have the charges dropped because of this. Anyways, I'll be back as soon as I can. -Jaune'

Pyrrha frowned sadly, "Of course…" She muttered bitterly at losing her partner for the night, "Wait, Weiss has a sister? Jen, Noogle Search 'Schnee Sisters."

_'Noogle searching for Schnee Sisters.'_ Jen 'replied.' Within a moment, several images appeared of both Weiss and… Winter…

"Oh hell no." Pyrrha said as soon as she saw the image of Winter, making a beeline downstairs after Jaune.

* * *

Winter tapped her foot impatiently as she awaited for whoever it was Weiss had sent to entertain her for the time being. Doubtlessly, it was going to be one of the boys who fawned over her sister despite her… Modest endowment.

Winter had a good chuckle at that, _"Perhaps one day, dear Sister." _She thought.

As Winter chuckled at Weiss' expense, she noticed a taller blond boy approach her, "Miss Schnee?" He asked, somewhat dumbstruck.

"_Oh great, another babbling idiot." _She quipped, "Ahh, so you're Weiss' new plaything. Sent to entertain me as my dear sister powders her nose?"

She could sense his growing discomfort and smiled.

"R-Right…" Jaune said slowly and with immense nervousness, _"Why didn't I look up a picture beforehand…" _Jaune questioned silently, regretting his inaction as he was now confronted with the Femme Fatale, "Weiss asked me to entertain as she got everything ready."

Winter continued to toy with the unfortunate boy, "My, My!" She said in an overly posh tone, "How sweet of my sister! I'll have to thank her as soon as we're done! Knowing my sister, she has everything planned out already so what is it that we are doing?"

Jaune stifled his nervousness and spoke quietly, "She asked me to play a game of chess with you."

* * *

"P-Money, This is Sugar-Bomb and Jailbait. We have Vomit-Boy in our sights. What are your orders?"

"Why am I Jailbait, again?" Ren asked.

"Stop that, Nora." Pyrrha said, "And do you see Jaune? Is he with… Her?" She petered out somewhat lamely.

"But I like the code names!" Nora whined, ignoring Pyrrha's question, "It makes it feel like we're professional!"

"We are professional. We do this all the time just with Grimm instead." Jailbait quipped, "And yes, Jaune has made contact with Winter."

"Dammit…." Pyrrha said quietly.

"I can always break her legs…." Nora said quietly.

"..." Pyrrha responded, momentarily considering the idea.

"No, Nora." Jailbait said.

"You're no fun." Nora said.

* * *

"My, Weiss must have some faith in you if she thinks you can beat me in chess." Winter let a moment pass for the compliment to sink in, "Or she wants to put me in a good mood. In either case, let's begin."

Jaune nodded and led the elder Schnee towards one of the assorted chess tables, "Ladies first?" He asked.

Winter chuckled, "Oh what a _gentleman._" She said derisively, "Thank you."

**_W:_** Pawn to E4

* * *

"Are they playing chess?" Jailbait asked.

"Oh no…" Pyrrha said.

"I have an idea." Nora said excitedly, readying Magnhild.

"No, Nora." Jailbait said, taking the weapon from her with surprising ease, "No more Magnhild until the charges are dropped."

"But Rennnnnnn~" Nora said sweetly, reaching for the grenade-launcher.

"No." Ren-bait said firmly, "All we need to do is either distract them long enough for Weiss to finish tying up Blake. We don't need to blow up the daughter of a millionaire to do it."

"Fine!" Nora said with a huff, sitting back down and crossing her arms with a pout.

"So how do we distract her?" Pyrrha asked.

The group was silent for several seconds before Nora squeaked out between a beet-red blush, "So, Pyrrha... Do you know what streaking is?"

* * *

"What is that noise?" Winter asked as the sounds of laughter and subsequently gunfire erupted nearby from where three quarters of Team JNPR were sat previously.

"Probably something involving Nora." Jaune said with a shocking amount of accuracy.

"Who?" Winter asked, immediately concerned.

"Just one of my teammates." Jaune said, making his first move.

**_J:_** Pawn to D5

"And you aren't concerned about the gunfire?" She asked, advancing her own piece.

**_W:_** Pawn to H3

"Not really." He said with a shrug, "This happens way more often than you'd expect."

**_J:_** Pawn D5 to E4, Take Pawn

"I see…" Winter said slowly, making a mental note to report that to her father and question Weiss whether such… Distractions were common for her as well.

**_W:_** Pawn to F3

"Yup." Jaune said, "Though I don't know what caused this one. We took away her sugar and her weapon so I don't know why Ren is shooting at her."

**_J:_** Knight to F6

"She doesn't have her weapon right now!?" Winter asked as the duo watched Nora begin to demolish the Beacon Courtyard in her dash away from Ren.

**_W:_** Pawn F3 to E4, Take Pawn

"Nope." Jaune said, "If she did there would be explosions."

**_J:_** Knight F6 to E4, Take Pawn

As if on cue, an explosion sounded in the distance as well as the faint screams of 'I'm Queen of the Castle.'

**_W:_** Bishop to C4

"...Well there would be _MORE _explosions." Jaune corrected

**_J:_** Knight to D6

"And this is normal?" Winter asked, appalled by the chaos caused by this one team alone.

**_W:_** Bishop to B3

"Well, no." Jaune admitted, "Usually we do this against Grimm but with the Vytal Festival and all, most students have been excused from missions to avoid injury."

**_J:_** Pawn to E5

"I see…" Winter said, "Well this is… Certainly different from Atlas…"

**_W:_** _Pawn to D4_

"How so?" Jaune asked

**_J:_** Queen to H4

"Everything is much more… Organized. Regulated if you will." She said, "Here it seems so…"

**_W:_** King to F1

"Crazy?" Jaune offered.

**_J:_** Knight to E4

"Unrestricted…"

**_W:_** Knight to F3

"Well, most of the professors here are pretty lenient… Except Goodwitch." Jaune added after a pause, "Also, I win."

"What?" She asked, darting her eyes down to the board.

**_J:_** Queen to F2, **Checkmate**

* * *

"I…I don't…." Winter said confused, "What?"

"Well that's my job done." Jaune said, leaving the table before any chance of a rematch could occur.

"Wait." Winter said, "I… How?" She asked dumbfounded.

Jaune smirked, "You and Weiss are _really _not as good at chess as you think you are."

With that Jaune walked back towards the JNPR dorm, leaving a dumbfounded Winter behind to the sounds of Ren attempting to capture and subdue a rampaging Nora, and to contemplate her own defeat at the hands of a boy who could barely talk to women without bumbling.

* * *

"The F***." Winter said after several minutes, deciding to find Weiss and hopefully some semblance of normalcy.

As she entered the room and saw the haphazardly assembled bunk beds as well as a dog running around madly she sighed. "Dust Dammit..." She said just before Zwei tackled her.

* * *

**Later That Night in the RWBY Dorm...**

"Oh Zwei…" Winter said, sat sadly across from the fireproof Corgi, "At least you'll never beat me."

"Ruff!" Zwei said, using his nose to push his bishop into position to take her king.

Winter blinked once as her newest defeat sunk in. "F*** You, Zwei." She said, giving the dog a defeated yet good-natured scratch to his ears, "F*** You."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Schnee's: Notoriously terrible at Chess. They just don't realize it as they only ever play against servants who are fired if they win, and each other.**

**Also for anyone who complains that this was a short match, I will say it again; The matches themselves are only framing devices for the grand scene of the story. In this case the insanity of _NPR's mission and Weiss' preparing of the dorm.**


	7. Match 7: Arc Vs Ice Cream

**A/N: 250+ Follows, 239 Favorites, 90 reviews… Yeah, I'd say it's time for another update.**

**Also, before I forget I'm gonna make a poll on my profile to vote for whoever you guys want as the next chapter (Barring a lucrative new character making me write one up immediately) as I have a real problem actually selecting opponents whereas actually writing the chapter tends to go somewhat quickly (Relatively speaking of course).**

**Finally, if someone you want a match for isn't on the poll (I forget them for instance) then just drop a review or message me and I'll add them to the next round of polling after each update. Except for Tukson, Summer Rose, Qrow, and any other dead/unseen characters we can't make a reasonable guess regarding their personality.**

**Additionally for timeline consistency this chapter takes place between Cinder's and Winter's respective chapters.**

* * *

"In other news, a recent scuffle within Beacon Academy earlier this week has turned into a full blown legal battle!" The TV said, "The trial has emerged following the assault of one 'Izen Arrunta' by Nora Valkyrie. Details are unclear but reports seem to suggest that the assault was caused by-"

Jaune turned the TV off, sighing, "Dust dammit, Nora." He said, "You didn't need to break _both _her legs…"

"True," Ren said from his own bed, a large book on legal procedure opened, "But to be fair, she _was _coming on to me."

"Is that really justification?" Pyrrha asked, the redhead furiously scribbling away at a textbook.

Ren shrugged, "It was for Nora." He said dismissively, "Besides what would you do if someone hit on the person you liked?"

Jaune glanced upwards in thought just as Pyrrha glanced towards Jaune, murder in her eyes and her thoughts.

"Thought so." Ren said, Pyrrha's eye movement and subsequent daydream of murder appearing clear as day to him. "Now imagine that but with no impulse control."

"Dust." Pyrrha said after several further seconds of thought, "How is that girl alive?"

"Luck." Ren said, turning back to his book, "Luck and the fact that I hid Nora's grenades before we left."

* * *

Even as the trio of hunters and huntresses held their discussion on the merits of murder, another party was watching them. Hidden in the shadows.

"Dust, how do they stand one another?" Emerald asked, growing more and more tired of her task as time went on, "Just on and on about their friend, an assault charge is nothing!" She said almost bitterly.

"Maybe not." Mercury said from his own seat, "But at least you have something actually happening for your end."

Unfortunately for the silver-haired partner, he had found himself assigned to listen to Team RWBY's dorm for the day. And as further evidence of his misfortune, the majority of their team had been out for the day with the two sisters off in Vale for the day and the heiress attending a support group for shitty Chess players.

"_Why is that even a thing?" _He wondered silently.

What this left Mercury with was simply a silent room with the feline member of Team RWBY watching some video or another on her scroll. 'Come back and accept your inevitable Gnoming!' so far had been his favorite quote.

***Rign*** Came the reply of the last member of their little trio, a petite girl with an umbrella who sat opposite her associates with a bell.

"Whatever," Emerald said dismissively, "At least they're interesting I bet."

***Ring* *Ring*** She 'said', setting down her headset and the sounds of music in the CFVY dorm to ring her bell.

"Yeah, well-" Emerald began only to stop herself short, "Oh, wait. Hold on…"

* * *

As Jaune left the dorm, Ren turned to Pyrrha, "So what would you do if someone started flirting with him?" He asked idly.

"Oh they wouldn't find the body." Pyrrha said in far too sweet a tone of voice for what she'd implied.

* * *

"Hmm." Emerald said, feeling a chill run down her spine.

"What's up?" Mercury said, putting down his headset as the cries of 'All Hail Great Brit-Ant' began.

Emerald was silent for a moment, Cinder had left her in charge while she was preparing an operation in Vale with the orders to find a way to somehow 'mix things up' within Beacon.

Unfortunately for teams RWBY and JNPR, their status as main characters sealed them to this fate of antics revolving them.

And further unfortunately for Jaune, because this story largely focuses on him he was uniquely screwed in this regard.

"_That could work…" _The mint-haired girl thought, _"But we need some way to distract him…"_

Emerald turned around to face the heterochromatic illusionist who helped make up their trio, "Neo, I have an idea." She said, recalling Cinder's discussion regarding why the Arc boy had suddenly become such a prominent member on the list besides his association with Miss Nikos, "How good are you at chess?"

Jaune felt a chill run up his spine.

* * *

**Match 7: Neo Vs Jaune**

* * *

Jaune made his way towards the nearest airship bound for Vale in silence, making certain to grab his wallet as well as scroll before leaving.

The blond leader, while uncertain on his stance regarding Nora's… Frankly Yandere behavior regarding other girls and speaking to Ren, was still committed to his team and ensuring that Nora at the very least held some of the comforts of her 'home' at Beacon.

As such, Jaune was currently in Vale on a shopping run to appropriate some sweets for Nora upon her release.

It was in Billy Tonka's Chocolate Refinery that he realized something was wrong.

Jaune had just about finished picking out the last of his candies for Nora when he could feel someone watching him.

The blond turned around confused, he wasn't sure how but he'd always had something of a knack for when somebody watched him. And when he turned around, he swore he saw a pair of dazzling pink eyes in the distance, hidden between the shelves.

Jaune blinked but suddenly they were gone.

Jaune paused for a moment, scanning the rest of the store for the oddly colored eyes but, after a moment, accepted that his eyes had been playing a trick on him and moved to pay.

"That'll be… 532.50 Lien." The cashier said astounded, ringing up the purchase.

Jaune nodded and reached into his pocket to…

"_Oh you have got to be shitting me." _Jaune thought as he realized what was happening.

"Ummm…." Jaune said slowly, "It looks like I have misplaced my…" As Jaune was about to finish his sentence, something outside the window of the store caught Jaune's eye.

Those pink eyes again.

And this time Jaune was sure they weren't a trick as beneath them he saw a devilish smirk… And his wallet…

Son of a Bitch.

* * *

"_Well that was much easier than I thought." _Neo thought to herself as she saw Jaune begin to rush out after her.

"Give that back!" Jaune yelled as he rushed towards her.

"_Showtime!" _Neo 'said', turning to face Jaune and…

Jaune froze in place as he was confronted with the world's most convincing puppy dog face.

"_No…" _The logical part of Jaune's mind said to him, _"Get the wallet back. Don't fall for it... Don't fall for it…"_

"I-I…" Jaune said, falling for it.

"_Dumbass."_ Neo thought, kneeing the blond in the leg before taking off.

"_Dumbass." _The oft-ignored logical part of Jaune's mind said as the aforementioned dumbass clutched his throbbing shin.

"OWWW!" He yelled grabbing his injured leg, "Wait!" He said, hobbling after her.

* * *

"Okay, now just lead him to the central plaza and let him play catch up." Emerald said to Neo via the shorter girl's earpiece, "We just need to keep him busy for a while as we get things set up over here. You should be able to…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Neo said, sliding into a seat in the center plaza, waiting for Jaune to show up

A moment of silence passed and Neo smirked, _"Three… Two…"_

"YOU CAN TALK?!" Emerald screamed over the earpiece.

Neo smirked, she loved pulling this trick on people, "Obviously." She said as if she hadn't been building this joke up for nearly half a year, "What, you just assumed because I didn't speak to you I couldn't speak?" She asked Emerald.

"Yes!" Emerald screamed, forcing Neo to turn down the earpiece volume, "Do you realize how irritating it has been to try to communicate with you for the past few months!?

Neo noticed Jaune out of the corner of her eye and waved to the blond, "Oh Emerald, I'm so sorry to have put you through that, truly." She said, smirking devilishly as Jaune saw her and made his way over, "But you see I simply _couldn't_ speak to you. I only have one rule, and talking to you would have broken it."

"And what rule is that?" Emerald asked, the venom in her voice apparent.

Jaune had just about arrived as Neo spoke, "I don't speak to bitches." She said, disabling her earpiece and turning to Jaune.

* * *

Jaune frowned as he approached the cheery thief, his patience having been exhausted somewhere between her misleadingly powerful kick to the shin and his subsequent chase after the mysterious girl.

"You!" He said.

"Hello!" Neo said in a tone that was far too cheery for potentially facing theft charges.

Jaune paused, for some reason hearing her voice felt unnatural. Almost as if he'd expected her to be mute or something. He couldn't explain why though, I mean sure he hadn't heard her voice before but was that they hadn't spoken yet really cause enough to guess that they couldn't speak?

No, because it's utterly ridiculous to guess a character can't speak just because they haven't spoken yet.

Ignoring that oddly preachy and somewhat pretentious voice in his head, Jaune refocused himself on the still smiling thief before him, "Give me back my wallet." He said in a voice that tried to sound intimidating.

Jaune unfortunately being Jaune, had his voice crack in the midst of his sentence, eliciting a stream of giggles from Neo, "You mean this wallet?" She asked smugly, "Okay." She said, "But first a game."

Jaune felt that odd chill from earlier that day return as he heard this, _"Oh Dust dammit, no." _

"Simple rules," Neo began to say, "If I win you get your wallet back... As well as another prize." She added somewhat lustfully.

* * *

**Somewhere in Beacon Academy**

Pyrrha Nikos felt her Jaune-Sense tingle, "Oh some bitch just done fucked up." She said, grabbing Miló and Akoúo̱ and preparing to go to war.

* * *

"You lose, I keep the wallet." Neo continued, unaware of the crimson fury she'd unintentionally released.

Jaune was half-tempted to say no. To simply walk away and accept that he'd lost his wallet for the day and avoid playing the dust-forsaken game that had grown to plague him over the last few weeks.

And yet… He couldn't justify losing that much money without a fight. "Fine..." He said with a sigh, taking his seat across from the diminutive mute.

* * *

"Oh don't be so glum." Neo said, quickly assembling the pieces, "It's not like I'm making you fight a dragon or something."

"True." Jaune admitted, "But do you realize how often I have to deal with this?"

"_Probably more than you'd expect." _Neo thought, chuckling to herself.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing." She said, "Just… nostalgia."

Before Jaune could question further, Neo pulled his focus by setting down his wallet beside their table, "And there we go." Neo said, "So you know I don't just run off with it."

"Why didn't you anyway?" Jaune asked, "You had a pretty big lead on me"

Neo shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know." She said, "I just thought it would be funny this way."

This was partially true. While yes, Emerald had told her to distract Jaune while they focused on the other aspects of JNPR, Neo was fairly confident she could have distracted him without the use of chess. Or really anything. From what she'd heard, he wasn't the brightest boy at Beacon.

If anything, Neo was simply curious to see how good he was if he was able to play against Cinder who Neo could see had something of an obsession with chess motifs.

"_A Queen symbol in the CCT Tower?" _The diminutive dwarf remembered with a shake of the head, _"That kind of stuff is just tacky, Cinder."_

"You stole over 1,000 Lien." Jaune said flatly.

"And I was right." Neo defended, "It was funny. Now enough foreplay, let's get started."

Jaune nodded, reaching for his pawn only to have his hand slapped away by Neo.

"As the _lady…_" Neo said, drawing out the word, "I get first move."

"But…" He said, trying to point out that White is meant to go first.

"The lady…" Neo repeated slowly, "Goes first. The gentlemen… Shuts the fuck up." She said with a wicked smile.

**N:** Pawn E2 to E4

"I-Whatever." Jaune said. He was quickly realizing what he was about to go through and what Roman, Emerald, and indeed most of the White Fang had been put through over the course of the past few months. Only he had the benefit of more words.

**J:** Pawn E7 to E5

Neo smiled, "See, this is what I need more of in my life."

**N:** Knight G1 to F3

"What's that?" Jaune asked cautiously.

**J:** Knight B8 to C6

"Lackeys who know not to question me."

**N:** Bishop F1 to B5

"I'm not your lackey." Jaune said quietly but with defiance.

**J:** Knight G8 to F6

"Oh hush now…" Neo paused for a moment, "What's your name again?"

**N:** Castling, King G1 Rook F1

Jaune frowned, "It's Jaune."

**J:** Bishop F8 to C5

"Ahh, yes. Of course." Neo said, acting as if nothing had happened, "Hush now, Juan. Your Queen is speaking."

**N:** Rook F1 to E1

Jaune, well accustomed to such 'Royal Proclamations' courtesy of Nora simply sighed, "Go on."

**J:** Knight F6 to G4

"Thank you, Juno." Neo said, "Now as I was saying, lackeys need to learn when to listen to their masters."

**N:** Pawn D2 to D4

"Maybe I would listen if you actually learned by name." Juanita countered.

**J:** Pawn E5 to D4, Take Pawn

"So you admit you're my lackey?" Neo prodded, smirking at Jaune's slip-up.

**N:** Knight F3 to D4, Take Pawn

"No, I just…" Jaune said before letting out yet another exasperated sigh.

**J:** Queen D8 to H4

"I'll take your silence as a yes." Neo said.

**N:** Bishop B5 to C6, Take Knight

"No." Jaune said, "Just... Acceptance that I'm gonna slip up again if I try to fight this."

**J:** Pawn B7 to C6, Take Bishop

"Well," Neo said, "That's more than I get from most lackeys anyhow. Most of them just start crying by this point."

**N:** Bishop C1 to E3

"Yea- Wait." Jaune said, stopping himself, You have actual lackeys?"

**J:** Queen H4 to H2, Take Pawn, **Check**

"You don't?"

**N:** King G1 to F1

"No…" Jaune said slowly, only now realizing Neo hadn't been joking, "Most normal people don't."

**J:** Bishop C8 to A6, **Check**

Neo leveled her eyes at the blond, "I am anything BUT normal and proud of that." She said seriously.

**N:** Rook E1 to E2

"I can tell." Jaune said, sliding his Queen into position, "Also, I win."

**J:** Queen H2 to H1, **Checkmate**

* * *

Neo glanced at the board and shrugged, "Whatever." She said, tossing Jaune his wallet.

"Thank yo-Wait." Jaune said, stopping himself, "You aren't going to freak out over losing a board game?"

"Nope." Neo said, rising from her seat, "You won fair and square, Jane."

"Jaune."

"I know what I said." Neo remarked, "Anyway, I think it's time I left." She said, her eyes suddenly switching to white.

"I'll see you around, Joan." Neo said, blowing Jaune a kiss and disappearing in a flash of light.

"Whoa…" Jaune said, more than slightly entranced by the diminutive illusionist. At least until he actually felt his wallet and noticed it was significantly lighter than usual.

"Oh Dust dammit." Jaune said, realizing he'd still been robbed despite his game.

* * *

**#NeoMasterTroll**

**A/N: Once again I would just like to remind people that there will be a poll going up soon on my profile as to who the next match will be and to add more characters simply review or PM me their names and I'll consider them. Additionally, please note this is not a promise of weekly updates, this is just to allow you all to help influence the story in some way and remove some of the major hurdles I always face in making a new chapter.**

**In any case I hope you all enjoyed and will continue to follow this little project and enjoy further. Ciao!**

* * *

**Later That Same Day**

"June… Arc?" The delivery man asked, knocking on the JNPR dorm.

"It's Jaune but yes?" The aforementioned blond asked.

"I have a package for you." The older man said, "Sign here please."

Jaune frowned, he hadn't ordered anything, "Okay…" He said, signing the sheet, and waving the delivery man away, "What the heck is this?"

"It smells like… Chocolate…" Ren said from the corner of the room.

Pyrrha perked up the mention of the treat, "Chocolate?"

As it turns out, Ren was correct. Once Jaune opened the package, he was treated to a sight of several desserts. Chocolate Cakes, Red Velvet Cupcakes, a massive bowl of chocolate pudding, assorted fudges and sugar bombs, and strangely out of place a pint of ice cream.

As Pyrrha made a dash for the assorted chocolate goods, and Ren attempted to salvage some on Nora's behalf before Pyrrha destroyed them all, Jaune made his way to the ice cream pint, having noticed a small note written on the side.

_Your Lien went to good use._

_Call me 1533-Medici_

Jaune blinked and tucked the note away in his pocket, _"Wow." _He thought, _"I didn't think she liked me that much."_

* * *

"I'm gonna stab him!" Neo complained, "I stole that money fair and square and now you just undid all my hard work! What in Dust made you do that!?"

Emerald smirked at her short, infuriated friend, "Consider this payback for not telling me you could speak. Besides, we can screw with Miss Invincible this way."

A moment of silence passed, "How does this screw with Nikos?" Neo asked slowly.

Emerald's grin widened, "I can't believe you gave him your number, Neo. How risque."

Neo's expression blanked for a moment. Followed by some thought, then slow nodding, "I'm gonna stab him." She said firmly before teleporting away in a flash of light.

To be fair to Neo, she was a woman of her word.

Luckily for Jaune, his plot armor helped prevent him from bleeding out.


	8. Match 8: Bug in the System

**A/N: In what is undoubtedly a landslide victory, we have our newest chapter to this little project dear readers.**

**Not only that though, but in the time of my writing this we have finally broken several milestones I have been hoping to reach for a long time.**

**Over 100 reviews, over 390 follows, 342 Favorites, and we are now on the 5th page of the RWBY Fanfiction page overall! No I haven't been keeping track of it, shut up!**

**Thank you all so much for the support in this story and I dearly hope you all enjoy this latest chapter which I hope will push us through to the last milestone I'd like this story to reach before I try something. Stay tuned for more updates if that idea turns out and I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth Productions and Fullscreen Inc. (But if you're reading this you probably already knew that.)**

* * *

"I don't understand why it is you can't trust me?" Ironwood demanded, "I have taken every step to ensure the safety of the people of BOTH our kingdoms. Why do you have so little faith in me?"

"It's just that," Qrow countered, "You think you're making us safe with your ships and your troops but what did they do to prevent the Breach? My nieces and their friends had the situation well in hand before you and your ships showed up!"

"You know that isn't true." Ironwood said, "Grimm were everywhere and your nieces, however good they might be, were only just able to hold their section until reinforcements came."

"Oh sure, reinforcements!" Qrow laughed, "The two-bit robots the Grimm eat for breakfast! I broke two of them on my way to talk your your little assistant Schnee!"

"Leave my-"

"Enough." Ozpin said, "This argument is getting us nowhere."

Both Ironwood and Qrow turned to Ozpin, a remark on either's lips but each stood silent. Willing Ozpin to go on.

"We meet like this so that we may coordinate our efforts better against her. To protect the citizens of EACH kingdom." Ozpin said with some fire, "If we allow ourselves to be caught up in this petty squabbling, to fight each other rather than together, then we have already lost."

Qrow scoffed, "You expect me to trust him?" He asked, jabbing his thumb in Ironwood's direction, "Even after he sold you out?"

"I am well aware of the… Uncomfortable situation James has put me in," He said to Ironwood's irritation and Qrow's delight, "But that doesn't matter now. We are no longer in the time of peace the world has so long deluded itself to believe. We are at war, and if we begin to turn on those that would call us our friends, who will help us when we need it?"

Ozpin ended his tirade by leveling his gaze squarely on Qrow.

However the older huntsman would not be swayed so easily and turned from Ozpin to face the general, "If you want to earn my trust, you have to prove it. I won't put my girl's lives in the hands of someone who'd sell out his common man to look good to the Vale Council."

With that Qrow left the two men to their thoughts.

"Thank you, Oz." Ironwood began.

"There's no need to thank me, James." Ozpin said, stopping him, "I meant what I said, we need to work together if we hope to have a chance of defeating her."

Ironwood huffed in exasperation, "Why doesn't he trust me?"

"Because he thinks you believe a show of force will solve anything." Ozpin said, "That with the Breach resolved we've little to worry about."

"You know I'm not that stupid."

"I do." Ozpin said, taking a sip from his mug, "But to Qrow you're as brash as he sees the Schnee girl to be."

"He started the encounter she tells me."

"And she continued it."

"..."

"That type of hotheadedness is what Qrow fears, to simply get pulled into a fight because someone has instigated it rather than to walk away or plan a proper means of response. He fears that's how you plan to respond and what you're teaching your students and troops to behave as."

"Then how can I earn his trust?"

Ozpin contemplated this a moment, "It's as you said to me, prove your students can win a war."

"My students are progressing very well into the tournament..."

"Not a war of brawn, James." Ozpin corrected, "Qrow knows you can win that. He wants assurances that you can win a game of wit."

"And how do I prove that to him?" The Atlesian asked.

Ozpin paused, an idea forming in his mind, "Glynda," He said, speaking into the small intercom on his desk, "Where is Jaune Arc?"

It took a moment for the huntress to respond, "Currently in the school's infirmary... Again."

"Thank you, Glynda." Ozpin returned his focus to the general, "Who is your most promising student?"

* * *

**Match 8: Polendina Vs Arc**

* * *

Injuries were not uncommon at Beacon Academy.

As one could imagine, any institution dedicated the training of individuals for combat purposes is prone to to a few health risks and the occasional safety violation. These are simply the costs of "Immersive Education" if one were to ask the staff.

Beacon Academy in particular was fortunate in this case however. In addition to housing the majority of the main characters, most of whom protected by plot armor, they were uniquely benefited in their knowledge and application of Aura.

It is this Aura that may allow even the most frail of persons to survive a near-fatal injury and recover in full so long as they've the knowledge and ability to apply it correctly.

This was especially fortunate in the case of Jaune Arc, who could now claim to his name the achievement of having survived a shanking via Ice Cream.

Or would it be a shanking BY Ice Cream?

Details.

Anyway, as Jaune laid recovering in the Beacon infirmary, having been rushed there after the girl, whose name he later learned was Neo, assaulted him, he had time to consider a great many things.

Namely, those things included, in no particular order:

-Holy Fuck.

-Why?

-Is that my blood?

-Is this the girl from earlier?

-Oh my god.

-FUCK CHESS!

It was around this time Jaune passed out.

Neo luckily escaped due to plot consistency but has since learned NOT to shank Jaune unless she wanted to be choked out by a literal goddess.

Once Pyrrha's blood-lust dissipated, Jaune was escorted to the infirmary which, thanks to his large Aura and even larger Plot armor, he was able to survive the wound with little issue.

He was however required to spend at least three days in the infirmary and visitors (sans _NPR and staff) were prohibited.

The silver lining to the situation however was that this spared Jaune from any further interruptions from his day to day routine which included, but were not limited to, some asshole challenging him to chess every 5 minutes and then promptly overreacting after losing.

But thankfully, nobody would dare bother him now. Not when only his team and the teachers were allowed to visit him.

Right?

* * *

"Hello, Jaune." Ozpin said, "How are you feeling?"

A voice in the back of Jaune's mind wanted to shoot itself.

"Good, Professor," Jaune replied.

Ozpin gave a weak smile, "That's good to hear, I'm afraid training is… Less than easy from the bedside."

Jaune nodded in affirmation but kept his gaze on the Headmaster. It didn't take a genius to realize Ozpin had a reason coming to see him. The Headmaster's schedule was notoriously busy.

"Well," Ozpin continued, "I suppose I needn't take up your time much longer, as I'm sure you've guessed, I came to speak to you for a reason."

"_Called it." _Jaune thought to himself quickly.

"Yes, well it seems I have been caught in the middle of something of a disagreement between two of my colleagues," Ozpin said, "I would like your assistance if it isn't too much trouble."

Within seconds, alarms began to blare in Jaune's mind as to why he, of EVERY student in Beacon, would be asked to help Ozpin. And yet, Jaune overwhelming penchant to help others saw forced him to ask, "With what, sir?"

Ozpin smiled, "Well it seems one of my associates has something of an issue trusting the other and needs some show of… Evidence let's say, that his faith in him isn't misplaced."

"Okay…" Jaune said slowly, "And why do you need me?"

"Well, Mister Arc," Ozpin continued, taking a sip from his ever-present mug, "It's quite simple. My associate needs to know he can trust the General from the stance of a strategist as well as a soldier. That is your role."

Jaune nodded, then paused, "Wait, the General?" He asked, "As in General…"

"Ironwood, yes." Ozpin finished for him, "My associate seems to see the General as too… Direct in measures and would like reassurance that he is able to achieve goals without overwhelming force."

Jaune blinked, "You want me to play chess against him, don't you?" He said.

"Not quite," Ozpin corrected, "I've asked him to fetch his brightest student to face you. To test on even footing the intellect of his students and how well versed they are in strategy."

"You want me to play chess…" Jaune repeated, barely having registered what Ozpin had corrected.

"Yes."

"No."

Ozpin blinked, he hadn't expected that response. Luckily he came prepared, "Very well, Mister Arc." Ozpin said, rising, "I supposed I'll simply reexamine your transcripts to pass the time as I find another student."

It took a moment for Jaune's mind to register what had been said, "I… Are you blackmailing me."

Ozpin shook his head, "Never, Mister Arc." He said, "It would be in poor taste for an educator to manipulate his students. However if you wish to reconsider, General Ironwood's student will be in Professor Port's room later this evening."

As Jaune's jaw dropped and eyes bulged in horror, Ozpin smirked at Jaune before turning away, "Have a good evening, Mister Arc."

* * *

And so it was with Jaune that, despite his apparent relief from the bullshit that was chess (Except with Ren. He was still quite fun to play against as those matches were for enjoyment purely rather than any prize), he was once again dragged into the seedy underworld of Adolescent Students playing a board game!

It was just shy of Five-Thirty when Jaune began to make his way towards Port's empty room. If nothing else, he wanted to be done with this situation. He'd go in, throw the match, 'Prove' General Ironwood's competence, _"Still not sure why I need to be the one to prove the intellect of a Head of State." _Jaune complained, and be on his way.

Sure it may be disappointing, but hey, Ozpin wanted the General and his associate to cooperate, right? Who cares if this was how he did it?

* * *

"He is going to wipe the floor with James." Ozpin said to Qrow

"You sent a kid to fight a General?" Qrow asked,worried that perhaps he'd mixed up his and Ozpin's drinks.

"Of course." Ozpin said, taking a sip of his own mug.

"And you think that'll prove I can trust the Tinman?" Qrow asked chuckling, "Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy! You know me better than thi-"

"Oh, no." Ozpin said, stopping Qrow's mid sentence, "I had no hopes that this would convince you to trust James."

Qrow stopped his laughter and turned to his friend, "What?" He asked, a curious expression on his face, "Why the hell are you having him play chess then?"

It was Ozpin's turn to laugh. It was more reserved than Qrow's boisterous bellow however and was more in line with that of a reserved chuckle, "Do you know what's unique about Peter's room?" Ozpin stated rather than asked, "There are more than a few cameras in there. And I'm curious to see James' reaction to being defeated by one of my students."

"You think he's going to lose?"

"Oh, absolutely." Ozpin affirmed, pressing a button on his desk and lowering a large monitor, "Care to watch?"

Qrow paused, "What if the kid throws the match? You said you had to force his hand to actually play."

Ozpin shrugged, "Qrow, please." He said, "This is James we're talking about. He'll inevitably say _something _to irk Mister Arc."

* * *

As it turns out, Ozpin was right. It took less than 3 minutes from Ironwood first speaking to Jaune before he offended him.

But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. In total, Jaune was forced to wait only about five minutes in Port's room before Ironwood appeared with his student.

The first thing Jaune noticed, aside from his own nervousness at his facing off against someone who amounted to a head of state, was the… Odd appearance of Ironwood's student. From what Jaune knew of Atlas, it's students tended to be very regimented and military-like in behavior.

This girl on the other hand looked nothing like what he'd expected. From her unkempt ginger hair to her peculiar clothing, she hardly fit the image of a hunter, let alone that of the best Atlas had to offer.

"You are Mister Arc?" Ironwood asked in a commanding tone.

"Yes, sir." Jaune said immediately, his attention once again focused upon the general, an edge of nervousness painfully apparent in his voice.

Ironwood nodded and motioned the girl forward.

It was at this time Jaune noticed two guards approach from behind the general and girl as well, _"Dust," _Jaune thought to himself, _"They take security seriously."_

Not another sound was made until the girl took her seat across from Jaune, she seemed to sit uncertainly until the general spoke once more, "Very well," Ironwood began, "As the challenger, Penny shall have first move."

* * *

"Rigging the deck in your favor already, Jimmy?" Qrow said with a scoff, "Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

Jaune too noticed the blatant attempt at rigging the game but ignored it, he was gonna lose anyway. Who cares who went first?

"Alright." Jaune said politely, offering no resistance to the move.

**P: Pawn D2 to D4**

Jaune had taken hold of his pawn and was about to perform a simple but fatal move. In essence, Jaune was simply going to expose his King immediately and give himself no retreat. It was remarkably simple and took less than five moves.

However… Just as Jaune was about to move his pawn and commit this deadly chess suicide, his attention was stolen by the general.

"Excellent." Ironwood said offhandedly, "An Arc with manners. What a treat."

* * *

"_There we go." _Ozpin thought, a small smile began to curl.

* * *

Jaune's hand froze, pawn in hand, "Pardon, sir?" He asked.

Ironwood glanced towards Jaune, apparently surprised he'd heard him but not fussed by it, "I said it is well you're so well mannered." He began diplomatically, "Doubtless your mother was the one to do so."

Jaune pursed his lips and narrowed his gaze, detecting an odd tone to the General's observation, "And why…" Jaune asked, "Would _she_ have had to be the one to do so?"

Ironwood furrowed his brow, unappreciative of his time being wasted by a student, "Because I am familiar enough with your father to know _He _couldn't have." He said with a mix of iron and venom to his tone, "It's your move, Mister Arc."

* * *

"Did he really just…?" Qrow began.

Ozpin smiled fully, "Oh James," He said with mock pity, "Why must you do these things to yourself?"

* * *

Jaune's gaze remained icy, "So it is." He said, setting his pawn back into its space and selecting another piece.

**J: Knight G8 to F6**

* * *

Ozpin turned to Qrow with a smug look of satisfaction plastered across his face, "Care to wager how many moves?"

Qrow cocked a brow, his expression somewhat dumbfounded, "I'll say…" Qrow began unsure. Chess was never his strong suit, "Twenty moves?" He both stated and asked.

In reality, Qrow knew next to nothing about chess and had no idea as to whether twenty was a reasonable, let alone average, guess or not.

"Twenty?" Ozpin asked, confirming it with a quick nod courtesy of his friend.

"Hmm…" Ozpin hummed, watching the match unfold as Jaune seized Penny's Knight with his own. _"My this game is moving quickly,"_ Ozpin thought, _"Move… Ten is it already?_

"I'll say… 30 moves." Ozpin decided

* * *

Unsurprisingly, Ozpin's estimate was closer with the true number of turns being 34 before Jaune emerged victorious.

Equally unsurprisingly was Ironwood's reaction to being defeated by an adolescent youth.

It first began with a mild twitch in his eyebrow, presumably caused by his unceasing rage.

Following a terse thirty seconds, the General spoke, "Penny." He said with an edge of (ironically) steel to his voice, "Please head back. Leonard, Dexter, please see that she gets there without incident."

"Sir, I…" The girl known as Penny began.

"Now!" Ironwood snapped, silencing the poor ginger girl with a quiet 'eep'.

"We'll get her home, sir." The guard whose name was either Leonard or Dexter confirmed, motioning for Penny to follow.

It was after the girl and guards had left that the General rounded once again on Jaune, fury in his eyes.

"Do you realize what you have done?" Ironwood asked, a quiet fury in his voice.

Jaune stayed silent as the General spoke, "Years of trying to earn trust, dashed." He said, "All by the blond son of a drunk."

Jaune's grip tightened around the arm of his chair, he _really_ did not take kindly to those who insulted his family, "Sir." Jaune began.

"No." Ironwood said, cutting him off, "There is only one way of rectifying this."

"And what, pray tell, would that be, James?" Ozpin said, entering the room, Qrow in tow.

Almost at once, Ironwood's expression shifted and his stance resembled that of a ramrod, "Ozpin, I…" He began, not having expected the interruption.

"Just threatening kids, Jimmy?" Qrow said from behind, a smirk dancing all across his face, "C'mon now this isn't your style. _You _threaten their entire nation. At least stay consistent."

Ironwood's grip tightened, "Qrow…"

Qrow's smirk widened, "Jimmy-boy!" He said, widening his arms, apparently ready for a hug.

Ozpin stood between the two, "Qrow, James, please." He said, hiding his own smile, "As sure as I am that your reasons are justified, I simply can't allow you to take up any more of my student's time. Mister Arc, you are free to go."

Jaune didn't need any more indication and dashed out the room in a flurry of blond and white, leaving the room occupied by the three men.

"And you wondered why I couldn't trust you?" Qrow asked, fighting back a cackle, "You insulted the kid's father and when he beat you, you looked like you were gonna fight him."

Ironwood was mostly quiet, "He didn't beat _me_." He said quietly.

Qrow's cackling grew, "So he beat your student! Quit splitting hairs!"

Ozpin put a hand on Qrow's shoulder, silencing the man's mad cackling, "Qrow, please." He said, "I believe the good General has been embarrassed enough for one day."

Ironwood turned up at Ozpin's comment and his frown deepened as he saw the small smile Ozpin failed to hide, "Even you, Oz?" He asked.

Ozpin, after a moment, shrugged, realizing he'd been caught, "I believe I was owed some recompense for dealing with the Vale Council, James." Ozpin said, turning from the room with Qrow and leaving Ironwood alone in Port's room with the board that defeated him and the memory that he'd been bested by a blond student.

"...Fuck Chess." Ironwood decided, leaving the room and the day behind him.

* * *

**A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. I barely covered the match itself. Honestly, writing out the match and fitting dialogue around it would do nothing but fluff out the chapter and make it needlessly long for the sake of needless length (Innuendo Quota filled…). So I apologize if the big appeal of this story is the match itself rather than the scene surrounding the match as this one is especially disappointing to you, but I stand by my decision.**

**Not much else here, just saying I've pulled the poll from my profile as I got the general impression on whom the readers wish to see and as such there's no need to hold it up there and just have Velvet keep gaining votes.**

**Rest assured, I know Velvet was second place but to be honest these are kinda a hassle to write at this point so it'll probably take awhile as I've exhausted a lot of my ideas short of 'Mysterious Challenger Wins' which at this point kinda feels like I'd be Worfing Jaune and entirely predictable.**

**If y'all have any other situations besides this I'd be happy to hear them. Aside from that I think this story's just about at its end unless something happens to P-Money in which case I have a very sad idea in mind. HOPEFULLY NO MORE ON THAT LATER! For now I bid you all adieu and wish you all the Happiest of Holidays.**

**Also the match I used as reference for those who are curious was Kramnik Vs. Deep Fritz. It seemed oddly fitting.**


	9. Match 9: Finale at Last

**A/N: I mean, what even is 6 months between updates? Or 2 years total between starting and finishing this story? Or adopting an entirely new name between the last chapter and now?**

**But in all seriousness, WELCOME Ladies and Gentlemen, to what is the final chapter of 'A Friendly Game' and what may well be the beginning of something much more interesting (to me at least.)**

**But more on that later though.**

**It has been a fun trip with all of you making this story, but all good things must end and I will be the first to say that this story has outlived itself well beyond what I'd expected. When I envisioned this story first, I remember thinking it would be a simple one shot full of fluff and Arkos (RIP). However it has since evolved well beyond that.**

**From a little one shot to a collection of randomness, to bits of seriousness, this story has come far from its origin. But again, everything must end, and this story must be done. To prolong it with another chapter of say Oobleck or Qrow versus Jaune would simply be Fan Service which I despise.**

**I truly hope you have all enjoyed this little story of mine whose conclusion I hope to be satisfying to everyone, and if not I apologize. (HA, NOT!)**

**Without further adieu, let's end this!**

* * *

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" Cinder screamed, "I'M CINDER GODDAMN FALL! I AM THE FALL MAIDEN, I AM RUTHLESS, I-"

"And now you're going to stop talking." Qrow said, finally wrestling a gag around the pyromancer's mouth, "Dust, how in the hell did you convince anyone in this school you were a student?"

"FMMHPH MU" Cinder replied, now attempting to bite her way through her restraints.

"Good to know." Qrow said, dragging her further from the school.

"MMHPHPMHFGH HFGFHH EHMMULD URKUURE!"

"OW!" Qrow yelled, stepping away from Cinder as more Atlesian troops secured her, "SHE BIT ME!"

* * *

Team JNPR watched from across the pavilion as the scene unfolded; Some students surrounding the convoy of Atlesian troops and Mechs that were escorting Cinder away, eyeing the bizarre scene with wonder.

Team JNPR on the other hand...

"I can't believe Miss Fall was evil." Nora said, sipping on her soda as the aforementioned 'student' was dragged away.

"I NEED A FREAKING TETANUS SHOT NOW! I SWEAR TO DUST RUBY, IF THIS TURNS OUT TO BE NOTHING YOU ARE PAYING FOR TUITION FROM NOW ON!"

"I can't believe she thought General Ironwood wouldn't have Anti-Hacking software on his scroll." Ren quipped.

"HOW DID SHE EVEN BITE THROUGH THAT!? THAT WAS REINFORCED STEEL!"

"I can't believe she expected Ironwood to let Penny go up against me in the tournament knowing what my semblance was." Pyrrha said.

"SOMEONE GET ME A FREAKING MEDIC!"

"I can't believe Torchwick told us the full plan just because of that one nightmare he had. What was it even of? Him getting eaten or something?" Jaune wondered.

"OR THAT SCHNEE SPECIALIST!"

"Something like that," Ren said dismissively, "But whatever the case may be, at least this is all done."

"PREFERABLY WEARING A NURSE'S OUTFIT!"

"True," Pyrrha said, "I mean it'd be ridiculous if her plan worked in the first place but could you imagine if it did? One of us might have died!"

"BUT NOT LIKE A NORMAL ONE, LIKE THE SEXY KIND!"

"Nah," Nora said, "We wouldn't have died. We aren't the main characters no matter how much the writers try, we would've been fine."

"I'LL EVEN SETTLE FOR GLYN-" Qrow's screaming was finally silenced as a bolt of ice struck him in his chest.

"SHUT THE HELL UP ALREADY!" Winter screamed

"What?" Both Jaune and Pyrrha said.

Ren clamped Nora's mouth shut, "Ignore her, she just says these things."

Jaune stared down at Nora who had returned to her popcorn, seemingly oblivious to the ridiculousness of what she'd just said, "Okay….." Jaune said, "Anyone want lunch?"

"Me!" Nora squealed, raising her hand and dropping her popcorn by mistake and leading her team away from the bizarre scene involving a frozen Qrow and irritated Winter.

* * *

So after a nice meal at 'A Simple Wok,' the team decided to make a day of exploring Vale, taking in all the wonderful sights of a city that hadn't been subjected to a Grimm Invasion or Robot Insurrection.

But man, if those had happened, that would've probably looked _sweet!_

But seeing as either of those scenarios were ridiculous, the team contented themselves to seeing the landmarks of Vale and visit the Amity Coliseum which still floated gracefully above the city due to the Tournament being delayed on account of a security review following Cinder's capture.

It was overall, an enjoyable day.

Until Nora accidentally set fire to the library while Ren and Pyrrha went to check out several books Goodwitch had assigned them.

Some thing never change.

However once the flames were put out and Nora was detained (again), the quartet had decided to call it a day; With Ren having to bail out Nora once more, and Pyrrha deciding to sleep after having been nearly set on fire as she was helping an elderly woman leave the burning library.

And once more Jaune was left alone in the afternoon with little to do, and a bored FanFiction writer who desperately loved to toy with him.

* * *

"You are my star, you are the one, You make me smile when the world's come undone, You are the one who sweeps me off of my feet, You totally rock, You're crazy and cool, Everything's all that I love about you; Girl of my dreams you would make my life complete…" Jaune sang quietly, "God, why does everyone hate that song so much? I mean it's cheesy but it's still good."

"Something about the shippers." Ruby said, appearing beside him, "They can't stand anything that fights their pairings."

"GAH RUBY! Where do you keep coming from!" Jaune screamed with a yelp.

'I'm always around whenever the plot demands it." She said, "Anyway, I'm bored and Weiss and Yang are busy."

"What about Blake?"

"We didn't have the budget to include screen time for her."

"What?"

"Anyway, so now I'm bored and since you're here we're gonna find something to do."

"Wait, what was that about screen time?"

"I dunno," She admitted, "Anyway, I was gonna go to the library but… Nora?"

"Yeah, that was Nora but wait, you and her both were mentioning-"

"So anyway, that plan's out." Ruby said ignoring him, "What do you usually do for fun?"

"I… I've been playing chess with Ren a lot recently." Resigning himself to Ruby's and Nora's confusing manner of speak.

"Laaaaaaaame." Ruby said, "But I still haven't actually seen you play yet so maybe we can see somebody else play against you."

"Wait, why don't you just play?"

"I, uhhhh…" Ruby said somewhat sheepishly, "I kinda don't know how."

"Do you want me to teach you?"

"Nah, that'd be a boring chapter. Let's find someone interesting!"

"Wait, there it is again! What do you mean by chapter!"

"Anywaaaaaaaaaaaay," Ruby said, ignoring Jaune's pleas for an explanation, "Let's go! I think I have someone in mind who wanted to play you anyway!"

"I… I... " Jaune began, "Whatever." He said with a sigh, resigning himself to his fate.

"That's the spirit!" Ruby said happily, "Now, let's Go!"

* * *

And so Jaune was once again dragged from place to place across Vale, 'desperately' searching with Ruby for any person who he could play a chess game with.

As Ruby continued to harass random citizens with this particularly peculiar request, Jaune once more reflected upon the absurdity of the situation. As far as he could remember, prior to his arrival at Beacon there hadn't been anything even close to this much of an interest in his chess skills.

While he could excuse the obsession with his hobby in a few cases such as Ozpin's, Ren's, and even Winter's begrudgingly, others still puzzled him greatly.

Especially those of General Ironwood's and the girl with multicolored hair, Neo was it? Wait, no. Numa? Whatever it was, this continued to puzzle Jaune. Especially as he still hadn't fully recovered from the Post-Game stabbing she'd given him for reasons he still didn't understand.

It still hurt to lean forward.

But before Jaune could ponder more on the whys of challenging him to chess, his concentration was once more broken on account of Ruby, currently yelling happily that she'd 'Found a Challenger Worthy of Him.'

Her words, not Jaune's.

And half-leading, half-dragging Jaune's would-be opponent towards the patient blond.

"Hey Jaune." They said awkwardly, finally freeing their wrist from Ruby's iron-grip.

"Hey Velvet." Jaune replied.

"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

* * *

"The following will be a grueling gauntlet the likes of which you've never experienced!" Ruby said excitedly, "An epic showdown between two grand-masters of chess!"

"Not really a grand-master." Velvet said.

"In which only one will emerge with their pride intact!"

"You are really assuming a lot more pride in this game than I have." Jaune quipped.

"What follows will be an epic five game rumble in which-!"

"No." Both Jaune and Velvet said simultaneously.

"Three games?" Ruby now asked sheepishly

Jaune shook his head slowly.

"Getting warmer?" Velvet said with some awkwardness to her tone, she normally wouldn't mind but she did actually have things to do today and couldn't afford to spend too much time here. Especially over something as trivial as chess.

Ruby gave an elongated sigh, "Uggggggggh, Jeez." She said, "You guys have no showmanship I swear."

"BUT OKAY!" Ruby said, continuing her exaggerated tone, "A grueling ONE GAME TOURNAMENT IN WHICH EVERY MISTAKE COULD HOLD THEY KEY TO EITHER VICTORY… OR DOOM!"

Ruby bowed as Velvet gave a weak but polite clap, "Yay?" She said, trying to feign excitement so as not to make Ruby feel bad.

It did not work.

"Just start this stupid game already." Ruby said, taking a seat beside the two with a pout writ across her face.

* * *

Jaune faced his opponent with a shrug, "Ladies first?" He said, unsure of how to proceed without angering Ruby.

"Thank you," Velvet said, "But I insist."

Jaune was about to argue but out the corner of his eye, he saw Ruby's pout deepen. "Thanks." He decided instead, not prepared to deal with a grumpy Ruby today.

**J: Pawn F2 to F3**

"So…" Jaune began, trying to find something to fill the silence, 'You play chess too?"

Velvet shrugged, "A bit." She said, "I never went to any tournaments but I played against by parents a lot when I grew up, and Yatsuhashi has played with me recently so I've stayed at least somewhat sharp."

**V: Pawn E7 to E5**

Jaune immediately saw what Velvet was trying to do and, if he was quite honest, he appreciated the attempt to end the game quickly but he couldn't simply let it en-

Wait, why couldn't he?

Jaune's expression blanked for a moment before a smile crept across his face, _"Why didn't I just do this before?"_

**J: Pawn G2 to G4**

Velvet blinked, there was no way in Remnant Jaune had done that by accident. The bunny-faunus glanced up towards her blond opponent with confusion in her eyes, "Did you grab the wrong piece by mistake?" She asked, Velvet wasn't so competitive as to use a screw up like this to her advantage over something so small, "If you'd like I'll let you move it ba-"

"Trust me, Velvet." Jaune said, "I know exactly what I'm doing."

It took a moment but it finally seemed to click in Velvet's mind, "O-Oh Oohhhh." She said quietly, "I see. Are you sure?"

Jaune nodded, "Absolutely."

"WILL YOU GUYS JUST KEEP PLAYING ALREADY!" Ruby yelled, beginning to be annoyed by the pause in an already notoriously slow game, "Jeez, I'm starting to remember why I never learned how to play this dumb game."

"Oh, don't worry Ruby, this game is almost over."

"Wait, but it's not even your tu-" Ruby began to say.

**V: Black Queen to H4, Checkmate**

"Checkmate I guess." Velvet said, unsure of what had just happened herself.

Jaune meanwhile released an overdue sigh of relief, _"I'm free…" _Jaune thought to himself, _"I'm free…"_

"What?" Ruby asked, "But… Weiss said… You… But… I… Four Turns and… WHAT!?"

"I'M FREE!" Jaune screamed to the world. No longer the chess master, that title was now (questionably) in the hands of Velvet!

No more random challenges!

No more blackmail over a surprisingly trivial thing!

NO MORE CHESS UNLESS HE WANTED TO PLAY!

"AHAHHAHHAHAHHA" Jaune cackled, "I'M FREE!"

* * *

"Wait, you lost?" Ren asked.

"Yup." Jaune said, hiding a smug smile away as he faced his team. Ren he noticed was surprised but calm about the situation. Nora… Had an oddly knowing look about her… Something felt off with her…

But Pyrrha?

Pyrrha was beyond confused.

"But… You were doing so well? You beat Ozpin!" Pyrrha chimed in.

"Yeah, but Velvet beat me so… She's better I guess?" He said, suppressing a snicker.

"But, I-I what!? That's so anticlimactic, you just lose the final game, what is this?!" Pyrrha said, growing increasingly angry.

"Listen, I don't know why you care that much." he began, his smile starting to break through. Forcing him to turn away, "Ultimately this was just a chess game, it wasn't that high of stakes."

"But…' Pyrrha began.

"I knew this every time I played that I'd eventually lose to somebody. I tried my_ hardest _and I lost, that's all there is to it."

"But…. But…"

"Listen, I know it's anticlimactic, but that just how these things go sometimes. You win, you lose. You're the best, then someone replaces you. These thing, they just sorta…" Jaune said, trying to find the exact word he was looking for.

"End."

* * *

**A/N: God, I love trolling you guys. And if you're expecting an amended ending, too bad. Anticlimactic or not, I find this end really funny so…**

**Bye!**

* * *

**_Stinger!_**

"So it's done then?" The cloaked figure asked.

"Yes, Cinder has been arrested and we saw to it that the rest of the timeline has been adjusted as well." Nora said, kneeling.

"Excellent," The figure said, "With this done, our work here is nearly done."

"Was this really all necessary?" Ren asked.

The figured turned to Ren with a scowl writ across her face, "Absolutely." They said firmly, "I have existed in far too many realities wherein disaster strikes and happy endings are made impossible. So our mission, though it may seem trivial, ultimately serves a far greater good than I hope either of you realize."

Nora nodded in affirmation while Ren hesitated, "You… You said multiple realities… Just what did you mean by that?"

The figure smiled, "Clever boy," They said, "Ultimately, I am a ghost among realities, not truly belonging to any. But always present in the darkest versions of a given universe. Even this world, so incorruptible as it may appear, has a darker version to it. One which I desperately hope you all needn't bear witness to."

"But why us then?" He prodded further, "If what you've said is true, why did you change our world in particular?"

"I simply can't bear to watch the sadness of so many worlds corrupt those within them." The figure said, "A long time ago, I made it my mission to create a web of worlds in which the happiness that was robbed from those I've seen could begin to return anew."

"A web?"

The figure's smile faded somewhat, "This world of Remnant is not the first place I've visited tragically, however I have resolved things here better than most. Ultimately, there lies an infinite sea of worlds I must rescue people from, and an infinite sea of misery and despair that stands in our way. So, I'll ask you again, you who've helped me steer this world from a wretched fate, will you two stand with me to safeguard this place? Will you join us in our mission?"

Ren glanced at Nora who smiled, "Yes." The ginger-haired girl said.

Ren remained silent for a moment, thinking of the implications of the figure's words, "Absolutely." He said after a tense pause, "But… You said us? Who exactly is us?"

The figure removed their hood with a smile, "Miss Valkyrie, Mister Lie" She said, motioning to two figures at their side, "I'd like you to meet Agents Tachibana and Akame. Two of my more... Seasoned assistants. Welcome to the Requiem Initiative."

* * *

**A/N: Oh how could I resist?**

**That's right boys and girls, The Requiem Initiative is here and their sole purpose the the creation of worlds where happiness and romance may flourish!**

**In other words, the breeding grounds of sappy FanFiction.  
****So watch out, a new player has entered the game, b****ut who is their leader?**

**Find out NEXT TIME ON A Friendly Gam-  
****Oh, right. This is the finale.**

**Ahh well, I'll probably write more stories eventually. And rest assured, when that happens The Initiative will be there to ensure that sappiness will survive. ****Maybe some Akame Ga Kill? That section of this website seems to be lacking in sappiness and abundant in Grimdark FanFiction...**

**We'll see, but for now ladies and gentlemen... **

**I bid you all one final adieu.**


End file.
